Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Category:
Fandom:
Relationship:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Series:
Part 17 of The Random Silly Headcanon Chronicles
Stats:
Published:
2026-01-04
Words:
772
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
10
Kudos:
24
Bookmarks:
1
Hits:
161

Orange Juice

Summary:

A fic in which James is having a not great day, and Regulus saves said day with orange juice.

Or

I had a silly head-canon and I ran with it (Part 17)

Notes:

i had orange juice, and this idea came to me. gotta love how my brain works sometimes.

enjoy :)

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Regulus always liked morning classes. An opinion which most college students (or maybe just most people in general) would disagree with. To be fair, he did understand why a morning class were unappealing for most people—with waking up early and what have you—but he always found that he worked better in the morning, and preferred to get any lengthy and sometimes...less interesting lecture over and done with, which then set him into the right mindset to study and otherwise work for the rest of the day, which he would do until roughly 2 p.m. and then return home. To him, it simply made sense, and gave him a routine that he liked, and that didn't stress him out. The only alterations in the routine is whenever he had a shift at the bookstore he worked at, which took him home later.

That, and today.

He had been sitting in his usual spot in the school's library an hour or so past noon when he called James. A usual thing. Though, admittedly, it was usually at noon, but Regulus had been so absorbed with his work it had entirely slipped his mind.

With a frown, he realised that James hadn't called him either, making the long dial-tones ring with a note of panic in his head.

Eventually, his boyfriend picked up, and after the meek conversation, tone of voice, and overall concerning mood that hung over the entire interaction, Regulus deduced that his boyfriend was having an off day, and was simply refusing to "bother" Regulus about it. A habit Regulus had been slowly trying to coax James out of, but it was fine.

Was it?

He shook his head and quickly gathered up his things. He liked routine, but he loved James, and frankly, he knew just how awful it was to be alone with nothing but a cruel mind that loathed you.

At a faster rate than normal, Regulus made it to the street their apartment complex was on. He walked past numerous stores and shops and cafes on the way, and didn't bat an eye. However, when he passed the small convenience store beside their apartment, he paused, thinking for a moment before entering and heading to the fridges at the back where they kept the drinks. He browsed for a few minutes before grabbing what he needed, paying, and continuing.

No more than three minutes later, he was unlocking the door to his and James' flat.

"James, love?" he called out, carefully kicking off his shoes before wandering in.

He was halfway down the hallway when he was met with James, who looked equal parts happy to see him and confused. But more than that, he looked...exhausted. "Reg? What are you doing home? Not that I'm not happy to see you but you—"

"You sounded upset," he interrupted.

James paused, mouth agape but no words coming out.

"Oh."

Regulus looked up at him for a long moment before he hugged him. Not saying anything, just hugged him, because he knew well enough that some people (like James) didn't really respond well when asked "what's wrong?". They would either brush it off, or freeze, and frankly, neither would be very great, so Regulus settled for a hug.

Well, that and one other thing.

After some time, Regulus pulled away and rummaged through his satchel, producing the orange juice he had bought. Why, you might ask? Well, it just so happened that James loved orange juice. Apparently, it made the other man entirely nostalgic and sentimental due to childhood memories surrounding an orange tree that had grown in the Potter's yard. It usually made the other at least a bit happy, and who was Regulus to not try and cheer this lovely man up?

James blinked down at Regulus, taking the bottle of orange juice with a carefully guarded expression that Regulus had learned meant "kindness is overwhelming right now, and I'm trying not to be emotional".

Eventually, James cleared his throat and smiled. "Thank you," he mumbled, pulling Regulus back into a hug and resting his chin atop Regulus' head.

"Of course."

"You didn't have to leave early for me."

Regulus huffed. "I know I didn't, but I wanted to. It's rather hard to focus on work when you know your boyfriend is at home feeling miserable."

With a chuckle, James nodded. "Fair enough."

He smiled, shifting to kiss James' cheek, to which the other smiled in response.

Later, the two sat watching some trashy romcom movie: James happily drinking his orange juice and looking far less miserable than earlier, and Regulus nestled beside him.

Notes:

james, sitting down at a bar, looking disgruntled and tired: give me your strongest OJ, bartender.

its canon. trust.

:)

Series this work belongs to: