22/23 | deepest/tears | 372 words @taylorswiftmicrofic tw emotional jily infidelity
James knew better than to walk into that book shop, knew that he didn’t really want to see the books, but he couldn’t help himself.
Not when there was something so captivating about the man that worked there in the mornings — Regulus. With his bright eyes and melodic laugh, with the way his sweet smile always made butterflies erupt in James’ belly.
“Are you actually going to buy something today?” Regulus asked with a playful smile. “Or are you just here to look?”
It was hard to tell if his second question was suggestive or not, but James let his eyes drift down to Regulus’ lips all the same, letting them linger for a second too long before moving back up to his eyes.
“What do you recommend?” James asked, running his fingertips across the spines of a few books in front of him. They were about gardening or crafting or something, he wasn’t really looking.
“To read?” Regulus asked softly, “or to look at?”
James laughed, knowing he had to lie — knowing that Lily was back home waiting for him, wondering why he was taking so long to pick up their morning coffee.
He took a step back and tried not to rake his eyes over Regulus’ entire body. “To read,” he said with a rueful smile. “Something for my wife.”
Regulus nodded, and took his own step back. “Let me show you our current best sellers.”
James followed slowly, knowing that it would be his last time in that shop.
His last time looking at Regulus, his last time talking to him.
“How does she feel about fantasy?” Regulus asked, turning and handing James a hardcover book. His eyes were dim and his smile was gone; James had to stop the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes at the sight. At the knowledge that he broke something that was almost there — even if it shouldn’t have been there at all. “This one is excellent.”
James nodded solemnly before responding. “It looks perfect.”
He took the book from Regulus’ outstretched hand, and tucked away his sorrow. He buried his longing into the deepest recesses of his soul, and prayed for them to never surface again.
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