Archive of Our Own

James felt his feet stumble as he reached for the doors to Heart of the Lion. Number twelve, Grimmauld place. The place was grim, too. Dank on the inside, sort of an ancient damp on the walls that the owners had clearly tried to get rid of. There were old paintings hung in the corridors which were covered by curtains and sheets, and a lot of locked doors.

James had only gotten the room because of the impromptu visit. He’d just come back from Delhi—a string of family funerals, and helping out his parents. He’d been avoiding it for months, really. Almost a year, as it were. Because in London there was the flat he and Lily had together, only she wanted James’ name off of it because, as it turned out, she’d went and got married.

The gorgeous, Irish redhead McKinnon they’d known since school, and apparently they’d been together for ages. Apparently they thought waiting a full fortnight after James had finally packed his things and gone, was an appropriate amount of time to wait before declaring to the world that Lily Evans had moved on.

They’d met for lunch, which had been a complete disaster. Lily fought him on custody of Harry, and of the things he still had in the flat, and his half of the café he didn’t even really want anymore anyway. Marlene had been beautiful and smug and made James regret ever knowing her.

Lily’s reasons for ending things had been shite. “You’re gay.”

“I’m bisexual.”

“I lived that lie,” she’d said to him. “But I’m a lesbian, James. I’m in love with Marlene and I’m a lesbian and the sooner you come to terms with who you are, the sooner you pick a side…”

He refused to listen to that shite anymore, so he’d packed up as much as he could carry with him and went to see his parents until he was calm.

Which was exactly the amount of time Lily needed to move on and rearrange both her life and his—without his consent.

So.

The Heart of the Lion was the only thing who could take a room reservation on such short notice, as he’d not exactly thought ahead and made plans for anything. And it was close enough to where he needed to be. The next day he’d go flat hunting. Then figure out what the hell he wanted to do with his life.

So here he was. The ancient, brass key sat in his pocket, his room was at the top of the stairs, to the right. It looked like it had been the main suite in the house once, when the place was a house. He assumed it had been. In the parlour, he’d seen children’s carvings on the legs of the sofas—crude little stick-figure images and initials. He’d seen old family portraits of the man who showed James his room—Sirius, he thought his name was.

Presently Sirius was behind the small bar that had been converted out of the lounge, and when he saw James sort of skulking in the corridor, he motioned him over. “Rough day?”

“Spare me,” James said, but not too unkindly. He was immediately poured a glass of whiskey and he took a sip, giving Sirius a grateful smile. “Let’s just say I’ve had better.”

“Haven’t we all?” Sirius refilled the whiskey before James had a chance to empty it. “Technically we don’t allow smoking in here, but if it makes you feel better…”

“Nah. Gave up the habit years ago.”

“Wish this one would,” came a softer voice, a Welsh lilt to it, and James turned to see the man who had initially checked him in. Very tall, wild, dark-tawny curls, a large nose. “No matter what we try.”

“There’s that patch thing. Or that barmy new trend, those electric fags.”

Sirius snorted. “Mate, do I look like a complete douche?”

James couldn’t help his laugh, and he shook his head. “Not quite sure yet. But fuck it, you know? What’s the sodding point.” Sirius did this thing, cocking his head to the side and after a minute it all sort of just came spilling out. Every dreadful second of the meeting, all the horrific events of the past. Catching Lily in their bed with Marlene. Her unapologetic shrug. Her unwavering decision to just end things.

“I didn’t even really like her by the end,” James admitted. “But it still hurts.” James’ gaze trailed to the swinging door which led to the kitchen, and leant in the doorway was another man who looked quite a lot like Sirius, only a little taller, hair clipped a little shorter falling just at the ears, elegantly swept over one eye. He was wearing a chef’s coat and a half-smirk. He was good looking. Far too good looking. James cleared his throat and looked back at Sirius, who had his head leant down on Remus’ shoulder.

“Look mate, we’ve all been there,” Remus said quietly. “It’s horrible. But there’s some decent places round here, you know? And as for jobs…” Remus trailed off and looked at Sirius who pulled a face, then shrugged and nodded. “How do you feel about hotel partnership?”

When James finally started back up to his room, equipped with an old Justin Timberlake CD Sirius dug out—insisting it was sure to make him feel better, and a bottle of Malbec Remus refused to let him pay for, he was having trouble wrapping his mind round the conversation downstairs. Remus and Sirius seemed to genuinely like him. And he liked them. And they were offering him a partnership of this place.

They promised it was doing well, swearing up and down they’d show him the books to prove it since it did look a bit…bare. The house had once belonged to Sirius, and when he’d been disinherited, it had gone to Regulus, the brother and the chef. Together James and Sirius decided to convert the place. His mother, who had been a retched bigot and recluse, would be rolling in her grave, Sirius had said with a laugh.

“Brings me a bit of joy when I’m having bad days to think about it.”

At that, Regulus scoffed, but his gaze hadn’t left James’ face once, and James couldn’t help that squirmy feeling because it was nice, having his attention like that. He was just too good looking.

He opted for a shower, slipping into his comfortable pyjamas and put the CD on low volume. He realised he had nothing to open the wine with, so he flopped back down onto the bed with a groan, and desperately tried not to recount every ugly word that had been spoken that day.

But it was next to impossible.

When had Lily become that person? Or had she always been, and he’d been too stupid and too in love to really notice? How much injustice had he done her? And himself?

His only saving grace was Harry, and his only real motivation for staying in London because he would be damned if he spent any more time away from his son.

James was just starting to doze when there was a sudden, soft tapping on the door. With a groan, he threw his feet off the bed and padded over. Flinging the door open, he was momentarily speechless to see Sirius’ brother stood there. He was wearing his baggy chef’s trousers with a white t-shirt spotted with some food colouring stains along the hem. He was holding a round plate with some sort of chocolate thing in the centre, topped with a strawberry, and his face held a soft smirk.

“Dealing with shite exes should come with both wine and chocolate. I know Remus gave you the first.”

James stood there a bit dumbfounded for a moment, then cleared his throat and stepped aside. “Thanks. I…thanks? Thank you?”

Regulus chuckled under his breath, then looked at the unopened wine on the table. “You don’t drink alone?”

“Couldn’t open it,” James admitted. “Forgot to grab a…er. Wine. Thingie.” He made a twisting motion with his hand.

Regulus laughed again, then reached into his pocket and tossed over the wine key to James. “No glasses though.”

“M’not as posh as my accent would have you believe,” James assured him. He grabbed the bottle by the neck, ignoring the seal, and plunged the corkscrew in. With a few deft turns, and ripping through the foil, the cork came out, and James took an immediate drink without letting it breathe. “Learnt that in college, had to be quick about it, or we’d get caught.”

Regulus made a grabby-hand motion for the bottle as he set the chocolate down. “Malbec goes great with my pudding. It’s a flourless chocolate cake. Very bitter, but you’ll like it.” He took a swig, and swiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

James grinned. “Sure of yourself?”

“Always,” Regulus said. His grey eyes bore into James, like a challenge, and James felt his heart threaten to beat straight out of his chest. After a moment, Regulus took another drink, smiling round the rim of the wine bottle, and he walked backward toward the bed.

Glancing at it, he then shucked off his shoes, climbed onto the duvet, and pushed back so he was resting against the wall. He cocked one knee up, letting his forearm rest on it, and he held the wine bottle by the neck. He gave the room another long, slow look, and James raised a brow at him.

“What’s that look?”

“This used to be my parents’ bedroom.” Regulus ran his hand up the bed post, then shrugged. “None of the furniture’s the same or anything. We gutted this place best we could. Only thing we couldn’t get down were the paintings. It was like they were soldered to the walls and we didn’t have the start-up funds to repair damage that big.”

James glanced at the plate of chocolate. “No utensils?”

Regulus blinked, then laughed. “I didn’t think. Problem?”

“Nah, mate.” James snatched up the plate then climbed up next to Regulus. He pinched his fingers into the gooey chocolate, and licked it off. “Fuck me but that’s good.”

Regulus’ eyes darkened a little as he watched James lick his fingers clean, then he gave him a wide grin, far brighter than his previous smirk. “It is good.”

“Humble isn’t your strong suit, I take it?”

“Why bother?” Regulus asked. He reached over, taking a bit of the chocolate on his forefinger and licked it off. He looked rather pleased when James’ eyes became filled with rampant lust, and he had to shift to adjust himself. “I am fucking good at what I do. It’s why I do it.”

“Fair,” James said. “I used to own a café with Lily before all…all this. I wasn’t really much good at anything besides marketing though. I mean, few of my mum and dad’s recipes, of course. Our Indian Chai was a big seller but…” He shrugged.

“Did you enjoy it?”

“The café bit…not especially. More that I enjoyed creating something with her. I loved her, you know? But I think I…I never bothered to get to know her. Or at least, not the person she was becoming.” The conversation was getting a bit deep, so James reached out and took the wine, taking several long gulps before he had the courage to go on. “We met too young. Everyone said it, and I thought they were so fucking stupid. I thought there was no way we could become so different that we wouldn’t be able to find each other still. Then I come home and she’s shagging our old school mate in our bed and telling me I don’t know myself.”

“Do you?” Regulus stared, then reached over with his thumb and swiped chocolate off the corner of James’ mouth. Licking it off, Regulus took the plate and continued to stare. Hard. “Do you know yourself?”

“Well enough,” James said. “I know myself well enough to know my love for her was real. It existed. I’m not some closeted gay person who used her because I felt like I needed to conform to what society wanted for me.”

“And what would that be?” Regulus asked quietly, eating some of the sweet.

James stared at a dark chocolate stain on the other man’s lower lip, and fought the urge to lick it off. “Married, kids, two cars, quaint little cottage just outside the city. I love my son, and I know we had him young but…” He trailed off with a sigh as the wine began to hit him, and he took another drink. “I thought we were happy, until she told me we weren’t.”

Regulus’ tongue darted out, swiping up the chocolate, leaving James disappointed. “And now?”

“And now what?” James questioned. He passed the bottle over, and watched the long line of Regulus’ throat as his head tipped back, bobbing with his swallow.

“And now are you happy?”

James stared, then threw his head back and laughed. “I’m fucking miserable, mate. I escaped to India like some fucking idiot white boy trying to find myself, and was viciously reminded why I should never live that close to my parents again. So I come back here because I miss my son and I had realised it was stupid to leave in the first place, only to find out she went and got married and has repainted my bedroom and all of my things fit into six boxes in the cellar.” James rubbed his hand over his face. “My entire life was compressed into six boxes.”

“Ah.” Regulus set the chocolate aside and shifted so he was leant against James, and only grinned when James turned his head to smell his hair.

“You smell like…”

“Tea tree,” Regulus said. “Some barmy shit Remus buys and I steal off him because it makes my scalp feel nice and tingly.”

James chuckled and turned his head more to nose through the soft locks. “Nice. So nice.”

“Mm.” Regulus carefully put his hand down in the space between them, and after a moment, James’ joined his. Their fingers tentatively played together, running along each other’s life lines, and wrist bones. Eventually they twinned together, and James felt warmth coursing up and down his arm. “I like you.”

James let out a startled laugh. “Yeah? Cos you know mate, I was told repeatedly I’m not an easy man to love.”

“I don’t love you,” Regulus reminded him. “Not yet.”

“You want me to stay?”

Regulus twisted his head to look at the other man for a long while. “Yeah. I do.”

***

An hour later found James half reclined against the pillows, with Regulus’ cheek propped up on his thigh. They were holding hands, James’ free hand weaving in and out of Regulus’ soft hair.

“…so Sirius gets this fuck-off sized bottle of vodka. Like the sort that you see on the telly as a joke, you know? To this day he won’t tell me where he found it, but he waves it in my face and well…”

“You can’t say no?” James asked with a laugh in his voice.

Regulus turned a glower up at James. “And I can’t say no. I had to prove to him I was just as daring. It was not my most shining moment.”

“How far’d you get in?” James asked with a snort.

“I blacked out after the fourth or fifth shot.” Regulus turned his face more toward James’ thigh, his lips brushing along his jeans, and James shuddered at the warm contact. They’re already both painfully hard, but they haven’t done much more than the cuddling.

Yet.

“So that was the night I became an uncle.”

James blinked. “Wait. What?”

Regulus laughed. “Well, it was the night the idea was born. Whilst they were busy looking after me, cleaning me up and me puking everywhere and basically being one giant, very pissed baby, they decided they wanted to give the whole parenting thing a go. It was complicated because Remus is Positive.”

James froze. “Like…”

“HIV,” Regulus said with a shrug. His hand came up, drawing lazy swoops and swirls on the top of James’ thighs. “It’s not my story to tell, he doesn’t mind people knowing but…well anyway, they looked into adoption, but they had the whole HIV thing and the being a gay couple thing working against them. So they looked round and considered surrogacy. In fact, it was at one of the fertility clinics I was at with Sirius that he found this article in a magazine in the lobby. It was talking about these orphanages in Russia where babies are sent to who are born to HIV positive parents. They test positive for about eighteen months, so it’s impossible to tell straight away whether or not they’ve got the infection. The article was talking about the psychological damage of these orphanages round the world, how the babies are neglected during the formative years of their lives. Sirius was upset after reading it.”

“Rightfully so,” James said, his voice tight at the thought of his own son—of him not being properly cuddled or kissed or loved for the first year and a half of his life.

“He was indignant and he begged Remus to consider the idea. Remus was hesitant. Afraid, I think mostly if the child tested positive after eighteen months. He and Sirius talked a lot, considering the cost, the care of having a positive child. But in the end, Sirius won him over and they spent most of what Sirius had left from his inheritance—I helped as much as I could—and they eventually got Teddy.”

James blinked. “Wait. They have a baby? In the house?”

Regulus snorted. “He has an early bedtime, but Sirius keeps the little monitor behind the bar, and I have one in the kitchen. He was three months when they brought him home. Cutest thing I have ever seen.”

James smiled, letting the backs of his knuckles brush along Regulus’ cheek. “I remember when Hari was born. He was two months early. Lily had some condition, can’t think of the name of it now—all this wine. But they had to get him out, and he fit into the palm of my hand, he was so small. We were…we were home this one night when the doctor phoned and said that we should come in and…and say goodbye. He wasn’t doing well, vitals kept dropping. I thought I wasn’t going to make it you know? I wouldn’t survive something like that. But we got to the hospital and suddenly they’re taking out his respirator and I thought that was it. He’s gone. Only it wasn’t. The little shit was fighting the machine, and once he was off, he was fine. Stabilised and everything.” James met grey eyes, and grinned, brushing Regulus’ cheek again, then drawing his thumb across Regulus’ bottom lip. He sucked in his breath when Regulus kissed it.

“Teddy’s never given us a scare like that. But I think…actually I don’t know what I’d do. I love that kid.”

“How old is he now?”

Regulus took in a long, contented breath before he answered. “Two and a half.”

“And is he…”

Regulus looked up at him very carefully. “Does it matter?”

“If I’m going to be here, I ought to know,” James said with a shrug. “I’d like to help.”

Regulus was silent for a long time. Then he answered. “No. He isn’t. Sirius and Remus won’t talk about how pleased they are, but it’s obvious.”

“And you?”

“I think I took one look at his face and didn’t much care either way. You’ll meet him,” Regulus said, and smiled.

James reached down and lifted Regulus’ head. He shifted so they were now lying on their sides, face to face. “I’d like to kiss you, but I’m pretty drunk, and I’d like it to mean something more than some idea I got after dealing with my shite ex.”

Regulus reached out, letting his hands roam into James’ wild hair the way James had done earlier. He ruffled it, and laughed. “Alright. Just so you know, I’m not as drunk as you are, and I’d quite like to kiss you back.”

James closed his eyes and reached out, tugging on Regulus’ t-shirt until they were pressed chest-to-chest. “You want to sleep in here with me? If it’s not too creepy being that you were probably conceived here.”

Regulus laughed again and pushed his face right into James’ neck. “Sirius and I were conceived in Morocco. In Rabat, and lived there until I was six.”

“Do you speak Arabic?” James asked, letting his fingers trail a pattern up and down Regulus’ spine.

“Er… īyeh, ghīr shwīya,” he said, then chuckled. “It’s been a long time. And we went to an English-speaking school there for the children of diplomats.”

James nuzzled his nose against Regulus’ cheek. “I like it. Sounds lovely.”

“You’re lovely,” Regulus murmured. He sat up suddenly, reaching round James to flick off the light, then he settled back down and pulled the duvet up round them both. “You’re really lovely, and you deserve to be treated better than you were. And if you wake up in the morning and you still want to kiss me, we should date.”

James grinned against Regulus’ cheek. “You were so quiet downstairs, I didn’t…I didn’t picture you as someone who’d be…well. Forward.”

Regulus shrugged and nuzzled closer. “I stopped denying myself from going after things I wanted, things I thought could make me happy, after I left my parents’. I saw what it did to my brother—being bold, being himself. I wanted to be happy too.”

“Good,” James breathed, burying his fingers back in Regulus’ hair and closing his eyes. “I just…good.”

***

James woke with his arms still wound round the other man, and he felt a sudden warmth and belonging. It was strange, but good. When he shifted, a small frown marred Regulus’ face, but other than rolling over and burrowing further into the pillow, he didn’t wake.

James got up, a sudden need for the toilet, and he slipped out of the room, heading down the small corridor to the floor’s shared loo. He pushed on the door and it opened, but met sudden resistance, and there was the sound of glass breaking, and someone swearing.

James took a startled step back as the door opened, and he looked in to see Remus stood there with half a shattered glass in his hand, and blood dripping on the floor. “Fuck! Oh my god, Remus. I’m so sorry.”

Remus looked a bit daft and dishevelled from the early morning hour, and his face twisted in pain, but he waved him off. “It’s fine. Wasn’t your fault. I should have locked the door but I forgot we had someone staying.” He set the remains of the glass on the edge of the sink as James hurried to the linen cupboard which was hanging open, and grabbed a flannel.

Reaching out, he tried to take Remus’ hand, but the other man wrenched himself away.

“Not a good idea. I’m…”

“I know,” James said. “Regulus told me last night. And it’s fine, really. You’re bleeding all over the place.”

“James,” Remus said slowly, but didn’t protest this time as James pressed the flannel to the cut in the centre of his palm. “I’m HIV positive.”

“I know,” James said again, giving Remus a small smile. “Honestly, it’s fine. I’m not going to leave you here bleeding out on the floor, and we’re being perfectly safe.” He wiggled his clean fingers at Remus. “I’m not afraid of you.”

Remus’ shoulders sagged just a bit as he stepped back away from the glass. “In the cupboard, there’s a small jar of blue powdery stuff. Just sprinkle that on the blood, will you? Then I can sweep it up after I get a bandage.”

James hurried to help, grabbing the powder, and watched as it beaded up against the liquid and glass. As he did, Remus put a couple of gauze pads on his palm, then wound some medical tape round it, and flexed his fingers.

“Sorted? You sure you don’t need an hospital for that?”

Remus rolled his eyes. “Trust me, I get worse, and it’s not worth the hassle.” He stepped past James for the small broom and dustpan, and swept everything up. James watched as Remus carefully sprayed a solution of something that smelt awful, let it sit, then scrubbed it up, before throwing everything into a bucket. “You need the toilet?”

It was right then James’ bladder reminded him of why he’d come here in the first place, and he blushed. “Right. Yes.”

“Is Reggie in your room?” Remus asked as he stepped aside for James to take his place.

James froze. “Er. Uh well…”

“It’s fine,” Remus said with a laugh. “Teddy just got up and was a bit distressed to find his uncle missing.” James’ face fell then, but Remus shook his head. “It’s fine, honestly. He can see Reggie at breakfast. Go on, you’re probably dying.”

He was a bit, and closed the door to relieve himself.

When he was comfortable, washed up, and more awake, James headed back down the corridor to the bedroom where he saw Regulus blinking against the morning sun. When James stepped in and shut the door, grey eyes trailed down, and the smallest smile played at the corners of Regulus’ mouth.

“I thought you might have tried to sneak out on me.”

James felt his cheeks go hot. “Do I come across as that big of a bastard?”

Regulus lifted his arms, making a sort of grabby motion with his hands, and James felt his insides swelling and crashing, and swelling and crashing. His feet moved without his permission, not that he wouldn’t have granted it, and he found himself crawling back under the duvet, pressed against a warm torso.

Soft lips ghosted along the underside of his jaw. “Neither one of us have cleaned our teeth. This could be the most disgusting first kiss ever.”

“At least we know we’ll remember it,” James murmured, turning his head so their lips now brushed more definitely together. Regulus seemed to like that, and he increased the pressure, mouth opening easily under James’.

Their lips slotted together, and it was mostly chaste, save for the swipe of a tongue, and James let out a halfway between a sigh and a moan before he pulled Regulus close and let his mouth press soft kisses along the other man’s cheek.

“That was nice,” Regulus said softly.

“It was.” James gave him another kiss, just under his ear, before pulling away. “I ran into Remus in the loo. Literally. The door shattered a glass and cut open his palm so I’m sure I’m going to be well liked this morning.”

“He’s the most clumsy man you’ll ever meet,” Regulus said, pressing the side of his face against James’ broad chest. “Trust me, Sirius probably won’t even ask.”

James let his eyes close. “Teddy was looking for you as well. A bit distraught that he didn’t find you.”

Regulus hummed. “I’ll make it up to him over breakfast. I’ll give him rainbow sprinkles in his porridge.”

James couldn’t help a wide grin from crossing over his face. “Do I get rainbow sprinkles in mine?”

“Depends,” Regulus said, and there was a smile evident in his voice, though James didn’t open his eyes to see whether or not it was really there.

“On?”

Regulus let his hands ghost up James’ shirt, playing along the flat of his abdomen with the pads of his fingers. “Are you in a rainbow sprinkle sort of place this morning? After last night, you’d be more the dreary chocolate kind.”

James pulled back slightly, and cupped Regulus’ face with one hand. His thumb ran over his lips, the side of his nose, just under his eye along the sharp cheekbone. He stared at the stormy, grey eyes, and felt his heart thudding again. “I think I’m very much in a rainbow sprinkles sort of place.”

Regulus’ smirk curved into a proper smile, and he grabbed James’ hand, pressing a kiss to the centre of his palm. “That’s what I wanted to hear. I think rainbow sprinkles to go round, then.”

***

Sirius merely smirked at the sight of the colourful breakfast when he finally made it downstairs. Remus was getting himself another cup of tea, Regulus was sat with Teddy and the rainbow-stained porridge. James had a bit himself, though preferred tomatoes and toast with his own milky tea, and he had a smile for his soon-to-be co-owner.

They were in the family kitchen now, a small breakfast nook set up by the back door which led to Regulus’ coveted spice garden, and it was the most cosy James had ever felt. It was a proper family, reminding him of ages ago, when he was young and watching parents who really were madly in love.

When Sirius slid across the kitchen, wrapping his arm round Remus and locking eyes before they shared a quick kiss, he had a vicious reminder it was never like that with him and Lily. Harry was a decent buffer between them, and there was a lot of laughter and smiles.

But there wasn’t this. He never had her foot rubbing along her calf as Regulus was doing now. They didn’t exchange these sorts of adoring glances over funny coloured breakfast foods which mostly now sat in Teddy’s dark curls. There weren’t hands sneaking across the table for casual brushing of fingers.

It had never really been that way.

They’d lost their honeymoon phase long before they left school.

And James just hadn’t noticed.

He wondered if it always could be like this, and getting a glimpse of the way Sirius and Remus deliberately brushed up against one another as they got into the fridge, or exchanged pages of the paper, or just felt like a quick kiss over tea cups…he realised yes. Yes it could be.

“Did you sleep well enough?” Remus asked as he finally took his place at the table.

James nodded. “I did, thank you.”

He watched Remus and Sirius exchange a look, and Regulus rolled his eyes. “Oh enough. I don’t need this shite from you two. You’ll scare him off before you even begin.”

“I’m not easily frightened, you know,” James said with a careful smile. He took a wet bit of kitchen paper and swiped it across Teddy’s mouth. The boy whinged a little, and bat his small, chubby hand at James, but gave him a toothy grin when James pulled a face.

Teddy made grabby hands, just like Regulus had done that morning, and James nearly laughed as he lifted the toddler from his seat, perching him on his knee. It had been way too long since he’d had someone this small in the house, and he missed it. He could feel at home here.

“If you become a partner,” Sirius asked as he stirred milk into his tea, “will you prefer to be the silent type? Or do you want to be involved?”

“Involved,” James said. “If that’s alright.”

“Preferable,” Remus said. “We have a lot going on, but we don’t like to hire outside the family.”

“Our rooms are up on the second floor,” Regulus put in. “There’s space up there for you. And Hari.”

James blinked rapidly for a second, realising how real this was becoming. “Alright.”

“You look overwhelmed,” Remus said quietly. “Do you need some time to think?”

James bit down on his bottom lip, looking over at Regulus, then at Sirius, then at the toddler still perched on his knee, then finally Remus. “No. I waited and dithered and hesitated before because I was waiting for it to feel right, and it never did. But I knew, right from the off I knew. Just like I know now.” James set his tea down and folded his hands on top of the table. “I want to go into business with you. I want to move in here.” He turned to Regulus. “I want to date you, because it’s been less than twenty-four hours, but I’m pretty sure I’m already falling in love with you.”

There was a marked silence at the table, then it was broken by the small voice declaring, “No!”

James ruffled the boys’ curls and dropped a kiss on the top of his head. “I suppose that’s that, then. The small one has spoken.”

Regulus leant over, poking Teddy on the nose. “You want Jamie to come and live with us?”

Teddy looked up at James, studying him hard, his little brow furrowed. Then he rewarded the man with a broad, toothy grin and said, “Yeah. Okay.”

***

Epilogue

James let the door close with a soft click. He padded across the room toward the man who was facing the window, watching the rain pissing down on the city from their high perch. He let his arms wind round the more narrow waist, lips searching for that sensitive spot, just above the pulse point, and he kissed it gently.

Regulus leant back, his eyes closing gently, hands coming to rest on top of James’. “How did it go?”

“As well as can be expected. I don’t think she’s entirely thrilled I’ve moved on. Hates the house here, hates that Harry likes it so much. Hates that he wanted me to bring him to the train this year.”

“Hates that he likes me?” Regulus offered.

“He only likes you for the pastries,” James said with a grin, nipping at Regulus’ earlobe.

“Shut up.” Regulus turned in James’ arms, reaching for his face, drawing him down for a slow, soft kiss. “Love you.”

“Oh I know it,” James said, and pushed Regulus against the window, holding him tight round the ribs. “And I love you too. From the moment I saw you, I loved you.”

Regulus rolled his eyes. “You liked me. And my chocolate.”

“And your face,” James said, running the backs of his knuckles round Regulus’ jaw. “And your wit. And sarcasm. And how bold you were. And your beautiful eyes.”

Regulus’ cheeks went a bit dark with his flush, and he lowered his eyes looking so shy and adorable James just had to snog him breathless for several moments. When they broke apart, James pressed the centre of his palm over Regulus’ rapid heartbeat.

“I wasn’t sure I’d ever find you, you know,” he said quietly, making James raise a brow. “Someone worth my time. Someone who made me want to say those three stupid words. And now here I am.”

“Here you are,” James said, and pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. “Happy?”

“More than. You?”

James grinned widely and pushed their bodies together. “Yeah. Yeah, I definitely am.”