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Teddy stood outside James’ flat, stopping to take a deep, calming breath before knocking. After an unprecedented amount of time deciding what to wear, he had settled on a dark green button down and his least worn out jeans, confident in his choices until this exact moment when he thought perhaps he should have bought something new. Which was ridiculous. This was James. Teddy had always found himself his most comfortable around James, ever since they were kids and even more so since their friendship had really developed after they were both out of school. But lately being around James had put Teddy on edge. He felt nervous and expectant, tense and unable to fully relax for reasons he couldn’t quite put his finger on. That is, until he realized he was in complete denial of his feelings for James. Which happened to be more than….friendly, as of late.
They’d been circling each other for a while now, and it was different than James’ hapless and obvious flirting of the past. Every small interaction between them was electric, sending Teddy’s heart beating rapidly and he could see that James was equally affected, although he did his best to cover it with easy laughs and cheeky winks. The longer they kept up the charade of being just friends, the more intense the pull between them became, until Teddy finally called James’ bluff with an almost kiss in the Potters’ kitchen the other night, before they remembered where they were and that anyone could walk in. That had been the last straw for Teddy. If they were going to do this they were going to give it a real shot. And so Teddy had ended up here, having sent James an owl earlier that day asking him out to dinner, making it agonizingly clear (he hoped) that it was a date. Not one of their regular chips and pints hang outs.
Teddy lifted his hand and knocked quickly, before his nerves could get the best of him. Merlin, he hadn’t been this nervous since his first day with the Aurors. Or since watching James in his first professional Quidditch game, certain that James’ flippant risk-taking was going to be the death of him. James opened the door a few moments later, that crooked smile ever present on his face doing a small part to calm Teddy’s frantic nerves.
“What are you doing knocking like you’re some stranger? You know you’re welcome here whenever, Teds.” James eyed the arm Teddy was holding behind his back. “What do you have there?” “Oh, they’re for you.” Teddy had forgotten all about them until that moment, as he carefully brought his arm around front and revealed the sunflowers he was holding. “You got me...sunflowers?” James asked incredulously.
Teddy looked down at the bright yellow flowers sheepishly. He honestly had no idea what had made him buy them, one minute he was walking and the next he was handing the money over to the street vendor, three vibrant sunflowers clutched in his hand.
“Yeah, it’s probably silly but I was walking over here and saw them and they reminded me of you, just forget about it.” Teddy moved to Vanish them, but James reached out and grabbed his wrist.
“Why? Why do they remind you of me? I want to know.” Teddy looked up, startled by the serious tone of James’ voice, a tone which was reflected in the look on his face. Not like he was taking the piss - for once - but like he honestly wanted to know. Needed to know. Which had Teddy at a loss. How could he put into words how James made him feel? James had always been so open about his feelings, about Teddy and everything else under the sun. There wasn’t a single person who knew him that hadn’t heard his rant about oatmeal raisin cookies being ‘the work of Voldemort himself’. Voicing his feelings was as natural to him as breathing. Teddy called on a bit of that courage now, because James deserved to be as happy as he made Teddy. He looked up into James’ eyes, finding calm encouragement reflected there.
“I saw them and I was smiling before I even realized it, like when I see you. Even after the worst days at work, even when I’m angry or worried or stressed, I can’t help but smile when I’m around you. And it’s usually the color of my hair when I think about you.” Teddy smiled as he looked up at the fringe hanging over his forehead where, true to his word, the tips of his hair were slowly turning a warm, soft sunflower yellow. There was a smile spreading across James’ face, the one that showed off the dimples in his cheeks and made the corners of his eyes crinkle up. The one Teddy loved but didn’t see nearly as often as he wanted.
Instead of replying, James placed a hand around the back of Teddy’s neck and leaned forward, bringing their lips together in a soft, slow kiss. Teddy stepped forward and wrapped his arms around James’ waist, determined to put all the emotions he couldn’t yet express into this kiss. James stepped back after a few moments, reaching out and taking the sunflowers from Teddy’s hand.
“I love them.” James reached out for Teddy’s hand, guiding him into the flat and closing the door behind them. “Would you mind terribly if we stayed in tonight? I’m afraid that most of the things I want to do with you are not appropriate in public.”
Teddy laughed, truly happy for the first time in a long time, and allowed James to lead him to the bedroom. He awoke the next morning, tangled up with James under the sheets, to see the sunflowers on the nightstand, charmed to always stay as vibrant and bright as they had been the night before.