July 5: Burnt | @jegulus-microfic | Word Count: 1,284

July 5: burnt | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 1,284

*LAST PART in surgeon x patient au*

previous part, part one

James was embarrassed. So embarrassed. He had walked into Regulus' room without knocking. Again. He wore his cockiest grin and his confidence oozed off of him in waves. He planned to make a move today. Yet, when he sauntered into Regulus' room, the first thing he saw was another man sitting in his lap, cradling his face. Then, the 4 faces of 4 people in the room turned to look at him all at once. James' eyes were drawn to Regulus though. 

James felt his face pale. His eyes snapped to where he saw Regulus' hands resting on the other man's arms. The other man was still holding his face. James could have screamed just then. But, thankfully, he didn't.

James couldn't believe it. Because of course Regulus already had a partner. James hadn't even asked before he started flirting with him. He was a little taken aback from how much seeing this other man affected him. I mean, nothing had happened between him and Regulus yet. They'd just flirted a little. That, however, did not stop James' heart from plummeting straight to his feet. He probably should have expected it though. Regulus was attractive. But, James always went into things with little to no plans, and that almost alwaysended with him getting burnt.

"Woah," the other man on Regulus' lap exclaimed, turning around fully to face James, "who's the Adonis that just walked through the door?" The other man smirked and bit his lip playfully. James looked at him, and instantly hated him a little bit for being decently handsome. James then instantly hated himself for hating the other man.

"Alright, that's enough out of you," said another man, with a mess of blonde hair and dark, slightly sun kissed skin. "Get up off your arse, dollface," he purred to the other man, who was now scrambling off of Regulus.

The other man shoved Regulus' face back his hand and barked out a laugh when Regulus promptly shoved him off. "Ugh, Barty, seriously?" Regulus groaned.

Barty. That was the other man's name. Barty. Huh.

James came to quickly when he realized that he ought to introduced himself to Regulus' visitors. He flashed a polite smile to the other visitor, who hadn't spoken. She was quietly standing by Regulus, and she was holding one of his hands gently, clutching her purse in her free hand. James cleared his throat and spoke, "Hello, I'm Regulus' doctor. Dr Potter, but you can just call me James." He smiled at them all.

The woman holding Regulus' hand was the first to respond. "Hi, James," she replied kindly, smiling back at him. She had the same dark skin and blonde curls as the other blonde man, except she had her hair woven in braids. She extended a hand toward James, which he met halfway. "I'm Pandora."

"Oh, and I'm Barty!" Barty also put his hand out for James to shake, reaching over the bed. As soon as James clasped his hand around Barty's to shake it, Barty blurted, "I'm the best friend." Barty grinned. "He's mine." Barty's eyes glinted madly, and for a second, though James would never admit to it, he felt scared. He let go of Barty's hand.

"Barty." James looked at Regulus when he heard his sharp voice. Regulus wasn't even paying attention to James. He was caught up in swatting Barty with the back of his hand. "Mate, you've got to stop acting like my crazy, possessive ex."

"Reggie! We've been over this! That is exactly-"

"Love." The blonde man spoke up, glancing down at Barty, who was shorter than him by a few inches.

"Alright, alright, I can take a hint," Barty scoffed and rolled his eyes. His face visibly softened, though, when the blonde man put an arm around him.

The blonde man nodded to James politely. "And I'm Evan."

James grinned at them all. Despite the fact that Barty was absolutely bonkers and the fact that Regulus liked that and was dating him, James thought that the 4 of them looked like a little family. 

He cleared his throat. "Um, actually, the reason I've swung by is that I've got to start getting Regulus prepped for surgery. You all can say a quick goodbye, but then, our nurse, Dorcas, can show you to the lobby. The surgery is only about 2 hours, but the anesthesia will take a while to wear off. I recommend coming back tomorrow morning as most patients are pretty out of it after being on pain meds and anesthesia and all that stuff," James explained simply. 

As soon as James was finished, Barty swooped forward and hugged Regulus. He was sure there was no way Regulus was breathing in an embrace that tight but the look of annoyance of his face was priceless. "Don't die!" Barty stood up again. "I'll have no one to torment! But seriously, Reggie, you are not allowed to die." Barty's eyes started tearing up and he sucked in a harsh breath. 

"Good Lord," Evan mumbled under his breath, enveloping Barty in his arms. "See ya, Reg," he said in a normal tone, leaving the room, bag in hand, holding up a now sobbing Barty.

"Bye, Baguette," Pandora cooed in her airy voice, kissing Regulus' forehead, then leaving.

James quirked up an eyebrow at Regulus when the door shut. "Baguette?" 

Regulus groaned. James felt a tingle in his stomach at the sound. He internally chided himself. No, bad, James, bad. 

"She calls me Baguette and calls my brother Croissant because we're French," Regulus explained, rolling his eyes. He wore a smile on his lips though. Regulus shifted his ocean grey eyes to James and scooted over in his bed to make room for him to sit.

James gulped and shook his head hastily. Cleared his throat. "Ah, no, thank you," he mumbled. "Reg, I wanted to apologize for flirting with you. It was unprofessional of me and I didn't realize you were already involved-"

"I'm sorry, what?" Regulus snapped. "What do you mean 'already involved'?"

"I-uh-Barty isn't your..?" James trailed off, then chided himself again. This time it was for not finishing his own sentences.

"No," Regulus said, lips pursed. "He's my ex, but he's also my best friend. And he's very touchy and lovey dovey. Evan is his boyfriend."  After a moment of horrifying silence, Regulus blurted, "I think they're going to get married soon."

James couldn't bring himself to respond. He felt a million times more embarrassed now for some unknown reason. 

Before he could string together another apology, Regulus' hand darted out and dragged James down to sit on the bed next to him. Regulus stared right into James eyes, a million emotions swimming through their murky depths. Then, with no warning whatsoever, Regulus cupped James' cheek and pecked him on the lips. 

James' eyes closed and he brought a hand to Regulus' back. His lips were so, so soft. His hand was warm and held James' face with so much care he could melt on the spot. He leaned in, expecting more, and when he was met with nothing, he opened his eyes. Regulus stared back at him, a centimeter away. Regulus had pulled back from him faster than he had rushed forward to him.

Regulus' face flushed madly and he turned away from James. 

"Get me ready for my surgery, James."

"Okay, love."

Regulus turned back to face James. This time, James was the one bringing his hand up to cup the other man's face. 

James anticipated what Regulus was going to say and before the words left his mouth, James murmured softly, "Don't worry, everything's going to be just fine, love. I'll make sure of it."

some people think writers are so eloquent and good with words, but the reality is that we can sit there with our fingers on the keyboard going, “what’s the word for non-sunlight lighting? Like, fake lighting?” and for ten minutes, all our brain will supply is “unofficial”, and we know that’s not the right word, but it’s the only word we can come up with…until finally it’s like our face got smashed into a brick wall and we remember the word we want is “artificial”.

June 29: complex | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 766

*surgeon x patient au*

previous part, part one

James sprinted down the halls, terrified out of his mind. Literally what in the world could have happened??? Regulus was perfectly fine except for a fractured knee so, why did James get a 911 page from his room? James’ brain repeatedly came up with one awful scenario after the other as he tore down the halls and rounded corners. He told off his idiot brain for being ridiculous but he was still scared and didn’t slow down.

He turned a corner and smacked directly into Lily, sending them both tumbling to the ground in a tangle of arms and feet. Oh shitttt, he did not have time for this.

“Woah, hey, Potter,” Lily exclaimed, “slow down there!” She let out an airy laugh and she picked herself and dusted off her scrubs. “Oh, I was meaning to ask, wanna meet me in the on-call rooms later?” Lily smirked suggestively, helping James up.

James’ heart and stomach dropped to his feet again. He was wasting time. “Er— yeah, uh, I’ll have to turn that offer down, Lily,” he gritted out, “I’ve really got to get going— 911 page.” James avoided her eyes and set off again.

“You must really care about this patient if you’re blowing me off this quickly,” he heard Lily chuckle as he sped away.

As soon as he got to Regulus’ door, he threw it open to find absolutely nothinghappening inside. He saw Dorcas, the nurse for this case, sitting in a chair, shoulders shaking with laughter. James head snapped to look at Regulus as he made his way over to inspect him.

Regulus was sitting on his bed, hugging his knees to his chest, his face a notably paler shade than James remembered it to be. His face was stricken and his gaze seemed to be latched to James since he had entered the room. 

“Regulus, love, what’s wrong? I got a 911 page,” James said, eyes switching to give Dorcas a questioning glare at the end. She burst into another fit of giggles at James look.

“It’s—um— it’s my heart,” Regulus mumbled, immediately shifting his pretty eyes away from James. James didn’t even have a chance to take out his stethoscope before he got interrupted.

Dorcas stood up and wiped tears away from her eyes. “James,” she started, “a word. In private.” She took him out to the hallway, closed the door, and leaned in close to him. “Alright, so a minute ago our star patient in there paged me complaining of weird feelings in his chest,” Dorcas began, “He seemed pretty spooked by it, so I checked him out and his heart was beating a little quickly, but it was probably because he was freaking out so much.” Dorcas breathed out an airy laugh before continuing, “And, uh, well, I saw his face when you were with him before…”

James didn’t understand. “So…?”

“Oh, love, he fancies you!” Dorcas burst out. “Babes, he was thinking of you and his heart was doing little flutters,” Dorcas said, a little more quietly. James cheeks flushed bright red and his ears felt hot.

“Wait—uh—I—sorry, what?” James choked out incredulously. James’ heart soared but his head spun in disbelief. Regulus Black fancied him??

“Love, you’re an absolute catch,” Dorcas giggled, patting James on the shoulder as he reeled back to lean on the wall, “You made me question if I actually liked girls or not, that’s how powerful you are.” Dorcas laughed and, instinctively, James also laughed but it was tinged with unease.

“Wait, so is Regulus like… aware that he… you know…?” James asked.

“Well, I told him flat out, I was like ‘Babe, seriously, you fancy him’ and then he just pulled his knees up and sat there in the fetal position while I paged you,” Dorcas explained with a smile on her lips. 

“Yes, okay, I get that this is a big deal, like, I’m soaring here, Dorcas, but a 911 page?? Was it necessary? I thought he was dying and I literally ran over Lily to get here,” James argued light-heartedly.

Dorcas flipped her braids over her shoulder. “What can I say, Potter? You’re here now, so go snog him senseless.” She grinned and walked away, leaving James dumbfounded.

James blinked hard a couple times and then it all set in with a jolt.

Regulus Black fancied him.

Regulus fancied him.

Regulus fancied him.

Regulus fancied him.

But, he was his patient. The hospital had extremely strict rules about intermingling with patients. Oh fuckkkk. 

This was going to be such a complex mess.

Oh, but it’d be so fun.

next part

july 13: owl | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 283

“-and you can tell James that if he wants to be on speaking terms again, he’ll have to stop leaving his dirty shirts all over the house!” Regulus snapped at Remus, who rolled his eyes.

Remus shuffled to the other side of the living room to relay Regulus’ message to James. After a couple seconds, Remus came shuffling back.

“James said you guys could talk when you stop going to bed late.”

“We can talk when he stops setting his alarms for 4 in the morning!” Regulus huffed.

Remus went to James, then came back with his lips pursed. “James says to remind you that you like it when he goes on morning runs.”

Regulus pinched the bridge of his nose. James got him there. Regulus did like to see him in a tight tank top. Perfect morning view if you asked him. He let out a groan of frustration. “Well, tell him—“

“Yeah, you know what?” Remus interrupted sharply, speaking loud enough for both Regulus and James to hear him, “I’m not doing this anymore. I’m not an owl. You lot can figure this out on your own.” Remus gathered his things and left out of the front door of James and Regulus’ flat.

Regulus looked across at James who was smirking. 

James’ smirk turned into a loving grin. “Come here, love,” James opened his arms and Regulus went to him, “Can we make up now?”

“Yeah,” Regulus whispered. “And, for the record, I don’t mind when you go on morning runs, darling.”

James pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Yeah, you’ve made it obvious, Reg.”

Regulus laughed then pouted up at his boyfriend. “But, seriously, James, please pick up your shirts.”

June 27: heal | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 799

*surgeon x patient au*

Part one, previous part

If you asked Regulus, he'd say he was completely fine. But after he took the tiniest fall of course his idiot surgeon of a brother made him go to the hospital to get it checked out. But then of coursethe hospital in question doesn't allow family to treat family. So, now, of course Regulus is stuck with the hot, dumb doctor. Of course. And for the past 10 minutes that hot, dumb doctor, who introduced himself as James, has been talking non-STOP. 

“Okay, you know what? Stop, just stop talking,” Regulus snapped suddenly, pinching his nose bridge and closing his eyes for a second. “I’m fine. I don’t need surgery. I’m only here because my brother forced me. You can just give me some painkillers or whatever and I’ll leave.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned at James. “Come on, doctor,” he continued, “do me a favor here or something.”

“Oh— er, yeah, well,” James’ face flushed a bright shade of red, “your X-Rays aren’t looking great, and the only way to fix your knee is with surgery so, ah, I— well you can’t leave, basically.” James shifted his feet nervously from where he stood next to Regulus’ bed. He flashed Regulus an apologetic grin as if it might help comfort him or something. It did not.

“I’m fine,” Regulus gritted out between his teeth. The nerve of this doctor, honestly. 

“No, you’re not, but you will be once you get surgery. I promise the surgery is perfectly safe, and I’ve done plenty of them before. There’s nothing to worry about,” James said, voice softening. “And you’ll be able to heal in as little as 3 months.” James sat on the edge of Regulus’ bed and put his hand of Regulus’ leg under the blanket. Regulus decided he would let him stay there for now. “And, uh, not to brag, but I’m a pretty good surgeon,” James added as he leaned in closer to him, “so you’re in good hands, love.” James patted his leg. 

Regulus felt his cheeks grow hot as James flashed him a cocky, lopsided grin. Regulus was trying to look anywhere but James’ eyes. He was dumbly scowling down at his own hands, which now lay in his lap, threaded together. Oh he felt so stupid for this. He would not  be manipulated into this surgery by just a nice man with a nice smile. No. Absolutely not. He felt his cheeks flush harder. 

Regulus risked looking up to meet James' steady gaze. His eyes showed a little concern but were otherwise lovely to look at, not that Regulus would ever admit that to James though. The other man's lips curled up in the corners just slightly, and his thumb was tracing circles where it lay on Regulus' thigh. 

He decided to would probably be okay to share a small smile in return so that's what he did as he still held James' piercing stare. His eyes were so deep with varying hues of dark, chocolatey brown and warm amber.

James opened his mouth like he had been about to say something, then closed it, then opened again slightly, then closed. He drew his lips in a thin line and finally looked away from Regulus. He turned to look at the clock on the bedside stand and abruptly cleared his throat.

Regulus snapped out of his daze immediately at the noise and, instinctively, pulled back from where he was, apparently, leaning in. He trained his eyes back on his hands in his lap again quickly. 

"Um, well, ah, I got to- I have to- uh, paperwork," James mumbled awkwardly, giving Regulus' leg a firm squeeze then letting go and standing up. 

"Oh." Regulus merely stared at him, not really taking it the words yet. "Oh, yes, you.. go do that, uh, yeah."

"Hey," James said, walking to the door, "If you need anything or feel anything weird, just call a nurse and tell them to page me, and I'll be right over. I'm serious, don't hesitate if you need something." 

Regulus nodded, breathless at the moment for some unknown reason.

"And," he added, now already standing in the doorway, "if you could hopefully decide about surgery before tonight, that would- well, it would save me from some difficult conversations. And if you decide sooner, rather than later, you can out of pain sooner. Again, just tell a nurse to page me once your mind's all made up."

Regulus snapped out of his daze... again. "Yeah, okay."

"Alright, see you later, love."

"Later."

As soon as James was nowhere to be seen, Regulus let out a tremendous sigh and flopped back into his bed. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. What was happening to him?

next part

july 18: fake | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 278

“You’re not real. You can’t be,” he whispered as the man he loved stroked the side of his face.

“I’m here, I’m here and I’m real and I love you so much, darling.”

Regulus screwed his eyes shut before the tears could fall. “No. You’re fake. It’s fake, it’s fake, it’s f—“

“I’m here, you can feel me, I’m real, it’s not fake, please, Regulus, just look at me,” the other man pleaded quietly, thumbs swiping gently at tears on Regulus’ cheeks.

Regulus opened his eyes and stared at him through the haziness of tears.

And there he was. James. With his tanned skin and dark curls. Eyes so focused on Regulus that one might have thought that he was the only thing James had ever seen in his life. 

Regulus clutched at James’ arms, straining to find a way to get closer. To see he’s really here.

“It’s just me, love. Please, breathe. You’ve known me for 9 years, we’ve been dating for 5 months,” James reassured him. “None of this is fake.”

“It has to be!” Regulus burst out with a heaving sob. “I’m not lucky enough to actually have you in my life. I-It can’t be real. I’m not that lucky!”

“Reg…”

Regulus wrenched out another sob and crumpled into James’ chest. 

“You’re too good for me… I don’t— I can’t deserve this… Please… Don’t leave me, Jamie…”

“I’ll never leave you, darling. You deserve the world, please don’t ever tell yourself otherwise.”

Regulus felt a kiss on the top of his head as he sobbed, curling into James’ embrace.

“I love you, Regulus. I’m here.”

“I love you too, Jamie. Thank you for staying.”