obsessive-compulsive · clone · bureaucratic · cold · precise · harry potter · dark academia · order · suit · sibling rivalry
The clock is a relentless metronome counting down to the gala, but Regulus is locked in a quiet, furious battle with silk. The silver tie cinches around his throat, transformed from an accessory into a garrote by his own frantic hands. He sends his phone hurtling against the wall, the crack of impact a perfect echo of the chaos inside his head. “I never pictured I’d see Regulus Black, the prodigy, in a wrestling match with a necktie.” James leans against the doorframe, a vision in emerald green that looks as if it were painted onto his skin. Regulus catches the image in the mirror—James, all effortless charm and smug perfection; himself, coming violently undone. “Go to hell, Potter,” he snarls, the venom in his voice warring with a humiliating, searing attraction he will never…