Regulus Black x reader - friends to lovers vibes
never letting you go
pairing: regulus black x gn!reader
summary: regulus and you are the closest of friends until he starts pulling away and becoming distant.
warnings: angst and fluff, brief mentions of dysfunctional family dynamics, low self-esteem, tense dialogue, brief hurt/comfort
reader pronouns: they/them
word count: 1.8k
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There was a boy in your compartment.
You hadn’t noticed him at first, maybe because of the mop of dark hair that cast him into shadow, or perhaps because he hid behind the cover of an old hardback novel.
Your first impression was that he wanted to fade into nothingness; to avoid anything that would bring any attention to him. You instantly wanted to know why.
“Oh, hello.” You muttered bashfully, hoping that he wasn’t offended that you hadn’t noticed him until just now. You had a feeling he preferred it that way.
A deep sigh echoed in the compartment before his book lowered slightly, revealing a face surprisingly mature for a wizard your age. “Hello.”
“My name is y/n! Are you a first year too?” You began, extending a hand to show him that you had sincere intentions.
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, I am.”
You pouted. “You never told me your name. I could do with a friend, I’m…a bit nervous about going to Hogwarts.”
He placed his book to one side and studied your face before responding. “Regulus. My name is Regulus.”
You nodded, satisfied. “Nice to meet you, Regulus.”
You thought he would surely pick his book back up considering how irritated your very presence seemed to make him. You looked out of the window to give him the option, and were surprised to hear his voice fill the compartment once more.
“Don’t worry too much about Hogwarts.” He reassured you, “You’ll be right at home. Your house will be like your…family.”
His eyes bore into yours, and for a moment you wanted to press him on the matter. To get to the bottom of just who this boy was, and more importantly, why the word family could barely escape his lips. Instead, you settled for a lighter question - or so you thought.
“Well thank you. You sure know a lot about Hogwarts! Do you have older siblings?”
He grimaced, pain etched on his face.
“Are you okay? Oh, why can’t I ever keep my cursed mouth shut!”
He gently shook his head. “It’s fine. My brother is a….sensitive subject.”
Your eyes widened ever so slightly. “Oh. Well, in that case, tell me about you! I’d much prefer to learn about my new friend Regulus.”
In that moment, a look of surprise morphed into the gentlest smile you had ever seen, and you knew that no matter what happened, you would never leave this boy. He would never be alone again.
…
Years had passed and you had kept your internal promise to Regulus and hadn’t left his side, despite his initial resistance. You were now the closest of friends and were there for each other through the good and the bad.
The most noteworthy challenge had been last year, when Sirius had left home. Regulus had withdrawn from life; hid away from the world and only appeared in classes. Even you, his best friend, had been relegated to another nuisance - a distraction that pulled him from the vivid inner world that had become his refuge.
By sheer persistence and, you were sure, a fraction of divine intervention, you had eventually gotten him to see you as a confidant, a safe place, once more at the end of last year.
This year, in an effort to re-establish your friendship, the two of you had started to meet up by the Black Lake for weekly book clubs. You took it in turns to recommend muggle literature for each other but had enchanted the books to appear as wizard literature to avoid harassment by Slytherin pureblood supremacists.
In the last two weeks, however, Regulus had missed your meetings, leaving you alone by the lake, with a note delivered by his owl as the only explanation.
He claimed he was studying for an upcoming test, which you understood, but you didn’t think it justified not seeing him for two weeks straight outside of class. You were concerned that he was falling back into old unhealthy habits and decided to confront him about it for his own safety.
As you entered the library, you spotted him at a table next to the potions section with a stack of books next to him so high you wouldn’t have been able to see him behind them had it not been for his mess of dark curly hair.
“We need to talk.”
His head snapped up as he heard your voice, revealing dark bags under his eyes.
“y/n!” Regulus started, a deep rasp to his voice. “I’m really sorry about missing book club again this week, I promise I’ll make it up to you next week after this damn test is over.”
You let out a deep sigh. He responded by running a hand through his hair and grimacing - he knew you well enough to know that he was in deep trouble when that sound escaped your lips.
“Regulus, I’m worried about you.” You replied, searching his eyes as if they contained the reassurance you so desperately sought. “Of course I miss book club, but I miss you more. I’ve barely seen you these last two weeks. I know you’re studious but you can’t possibly be spending this much time studying - we’ve been here before, what aren’t you telling me?”
It was his turn to deeply sigh. “I get that you’re worried but I need you to trust me that it is just a really important Potions test. I need to do well on this one.”
“Wait. Potions?” You scoffed. “You’re already brilliant at Potions. I’m going to need a less pathetic excuse, Regulus.”
“You don’t-” He looked down at his hands. “You don’t understand.”
“Then help me understand! What could possibly be so important about a standard Potions test?”
He reached out and grabbed your hands and looked deep into your eyes. “Can’t you just accept that this is really important to me?”
Those darn eyes. They were always going to be your weakness. “Fine. One week. Then I’m back to protective mode and you better be back to normal.”
…
A week had passed and you anxiously waited by the Black Lake for book club.
Regulus’ big test had been yesterday and you were pleased that he had sat with you at dinner and told you that he had a good feeling about it. You hoped he’d keep his word and arrive at book club as normal - he was already a few minutes late which did nothing for your nerves.
Suddenly, there was an excitable thud next to you that pulled you from your thoughts. Regulus sat closer to you than normal and nudged you with his shoulder playfully, a beaming smile on his face.
“I take it your intuition was correct?”
He nodded, head raised and posture suddenly taking an air of confidence that reminded you he was a Black. “You are looking at the student with the highest score on yesterday’s potions test. I even bested Severus!”
“Regulus, that’s amazing!” You wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in for a side hug, your head briefly resting on his shoulder as you muttered, “I’m so proud of you.”
You felt the vibrations of him gently chuckling, and pulled yourself back up to take in the rare sight of a proud and happy Regulus.
“So, anyway,” he started, bashfully, a tinge of blush on his cheeks. “I’ve got our book of the week.”
You nodded, excitedly. You’d missed this. You’d missed him.
He handed you a familiar looking hardback. You didn’t have to look at it closely to know which book it was. You looked up at him, a tender expression gracing your features. “Pride and Prejudice? But you’ve already read it - you were reading it the day we met!”
He nodded. “I wanted to read it again with you. Open it.”
You hesitantly opened the book and saw a delicate handwritten note inscribed on the first page. You looked up at him curiously before peering down to read it.
Dearest y/n,
You have been the most special person in my life from the moment we first spoke.
I know that it hasn’t been easy, what with my constant attempts to show you that you are worthy of so much more than someone like me, but I am thankful for you each and every day.
Last year was the toughest time of my entire life, and while everyone else expected me to be “perfect”, you only ever asked that I be myself.
You are the only person that has ever truly taken the time to get to know me for who I am - inferiority complex and all.
Even though I am still entirely convinced that I’m not worthy of one iota of you, if you would give me the chance, it would be my honour to escort you on an official date to Hogsmeade this following week.
I love you for all that you are, just as you see me for all that I am.
Forever yours,
Regulus Arcturus Black
You looked up at him through tear-filled eyes, and nodded. “Regulus, this is- Wow. I would love to go to Hogsmeade with you.”
“I don’t even have words right now.” You wiped a tear and nudged him playfully. “Why’d it take you so long to ask?”
He chuckled. “Well, you see-”
“Ah, Regulus,” Slughorn’s voice resounded from where he was approaching behind Regulus. “I wondered where I might find you. Congratulations once again on your outstanding potions test. I was incredibly impressed, although you are one of my top students. May I enquire for which purpose you plan to use your reward of a vial of Felix Felicis?”
Regulus’ face said it all. His neck snapped towards you, blush deeply coating his cheeks. “Well, sir, I-”
Your eyes widened in realisation. “You- Regulus, you worked so hard to do well on that test! Did you seriously use a vial of Felix Felicis just to ask me out?”
Slughorn, quickly becoming aware of his blunder, mumbled something about being late for a staff meeting and left a mortified Regulus alone to face you.
You looked at him expectantly and he rubbed a hand on the back of his neck before looking up at you nervously in response.
“Look, y/n,” he started, “I’m not sorry. I’ve wanted to ask you out for years and could never bring myself to do it. The voices in my head always drowned out my bravery. When Slughorn announced the reward for the highest score on the test, I knew it was my chance.”
You chuckled incredulously. “You really are one of a kind, Regulus.”
He sheepishly looked down at his hands. “So, uh, are you still willing to go on a date with me?”
You smiled then, “Of course I am, you doofus. I’ve loved you for years.”
He looked up at you with that same tender expression you’d first fallen in love with on the Hogwarts Express in your first year.
“-just promise you won’t scare me like that again.”
He nodded. As he pulled you in for a warm embrace, you heard him whisper in your ear. “Oh believe me, I’m not a fool. I’m never letting you go.”
a/n: hello lovely, thank you very much for your request! I hope that it lived up to your expectations 🖤 as always, please feel free to request in future - this was a super fun challenge, I love me some moody sad bois haha 😂😍
also a big thank you to @snowyarcher for your support with my regulus recon. I hope that you enjoy this as well, beautiful ☺️ so grateful for you x
