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James would like to say that it started innocently, as most things do, but that would be a lie. In more ways than one. He wasn't sure they'd ever had something start like this, it wasn't particularly innocent, and things for them pretty much never started innocently. They caused problems on purpose and they all knew it.
It started a little weirdly but mostly harmless. There. That was more honest.
There was a bouquet of roses at the foot of Sirius's four poster, placed on top of his trunk, and they all froze in the doorway. Rather, James and Sirius froze, and since Remus and Peter were behind them, they had to stop too.
"What the hell is that," James said flatly.
"You mean it's not your fault?" Peter asked.
"Sirius doesn't like roses, duh."
"Ah yes, how silly of us," Remus said, sharing a look with Peter that James pretended not to see.
"Okay," Sirius said, walking forward, "but if they're not from you, who are they from?" There was a letter pinned up top, and when he pulled it out, it revealed that the clip holding it in place was in the shape of a heart. "'To the most handsome boy at Hogwarts'," he read as the rest of them entered. Peter helpfully closed the door. "'I love seeing you every day, Sirius. Signed, your secret admirer'." Sirius laughed. "At least they're playing to my ego."
"You don't even like roses," James muttered darkly, glaring at the bouquet like it had done him wrong.
"It's the thought that counts," Sirius said, bending down to smell them. "And it's not that I hate roses, they're just not my favourite flower."
"They're not even in your top five," James said.
"Why do you know that?" Remus asked, frowning.
"Maybe that's what their pillow talk is," Peter said. "Flowers and balloons."
"Wormtail, if you make jokes like that, eventually they'll answer, and I don't want to know the answers."
James was sullen for the rest of the day, and the next morning, there was a bouquet of red and black dahlias on Sirius's side table, clearly from James. Sirius kept kissing his cheek and grinning like a loon, and if they weren't so happy, Remus would be annoyed by it all.
Sirius got a letter, written with violet ink and containing a love poem.
Peter was there when he read it, which meant that he saw when Sirius tossed it in the rubbish bin. "You going to tell Prongs?"
"Nah. He got so twisted up about the letters; I don't want him to worry about it. It's just some third year with a crush."
"Your life, mate."
Sirius snorted. "You make it sound like James is going to kill me for not telling him."
"I'm just saying that he gets jealous."
"Thanks Wormy, I had no idea," Sirius said flatly.
He got another letter. The second letter-- with the first being the one attached to the flowers-- had had a love poem, but it was a famous one that they'd written out to include. This one, as far as Sirius could tell, they'd written themselves.
It would've been sweet if A. they'd introduced themselves in some way and B. Sirius was not already dating the love of his life. Remus could call it stupid all he liked, but Sirius knew that James was it for him. Besides, they were great together, so it's not like he was suffering or summat.
He knew that Peter hadn't told James about the second letter because he had been acting like his usual self, not his jealous self. Sirius tossed this one in the bin as well, double checking that the dormitory door was still shut.
It's not like he was hiding this from James, but he knew it would upset him. No reason to upset him when it was nothing.
"You got another love note," Peter said, flipping through his magazine.
Sirius had had detention that night, which meant everyone was in the dorm when he got back.
"Hey Sirius?" James said. "Guess what I want to know?"
"If you're going to be a shit head about this, I don't want to talk to you at all."
For a moment, James kept scowling. Then he blew out a breath. "Yeah. Sorry. C'mere?" he asked hopefully, holding out a hand.
"Yeah, just a sec." He kicked off his shoes and took down his hair, then pulled off his tie. Normally he dressed down hours earlier than this, but with detention and that meeting he'd had with McGonagall, he'd had to be in full uniform all day. He ducked into his four poster to join James, and they pulled the curtains shut. Sirius already had his wand in easy reach, so he hit the curtains with a silencing spell. It was a long established rule for when him and James to do that when they wanted to Talk (Remus and Peter insisted it was a capital 't' kind of talk).
"I don't get why you didn't tell me," James said. He looked the special mix of hurt and vulnerable that he always did when Sirius got mad at him-- although in Sirius's defense, he was rarely angry with him, and this time it had been more of a warning than anything else.
"Because you get jealous, and this is nothing," Sirius said, gesturing to the pink envelope. "Would it really make you feel better if I showed it to you every single time so you could get mad?"
"No, but I- I dunno, I just don't like that you didn't tell me."
"I probably should have," Sirius admitted. He didn't really know what he'd been thinking. If he'd told James about the second letter, than they could have agreed that Sirius didn't need to tell him about the others since all he did was read them once then toss them-- and he only read them to be nice to whoever the author was, on the off-chance that they ever told him who they were and he needed to respond. "In my defense, I didn't think they'd keep sending this many. Wouldn't most people get bored after the first few?"
"I wouldn't."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but you're in love with me. This is probably some third year that I barely talk to."
"I know," James groaned, falling forward against Sirius pitifully. "That just makes me feel worse. Here I am, getting all tossed because some kid thinks you're pretty. I know you're pretty! I just don't like the way other people notice it."
Sirius pat him on the back and tried to keep from laughing because he knew that it hurt James's feelings when he did that. Normally, he didn't have the urge to laugh. Anytime it was a jealousy thing though, he found the entire situation ludicrous. He knew that it bothered James to feel like this, but for him, dating someone else had never been an option he truly considered. He'd thought about it, but what would have been the point when he was clearly so happy with James? He knew-- he did, he knew-- that James was just paranoid that he'd find someone 'better'-- James's words, not his-- and leave. "James, Jamie, light of my life," Sirius said, wiggling around a bit to get his hands on either side of James's face and tilt his head up to look him in the eye. "I love you. At no point have I thought about dating this other person, whoever they might be. It could be the entire band The Sex Pistols, and I'd still choose to be here, with you. Okay?"
"I know," James muttered, still in his guilty-for-feeling-this-way stage.
"That being said, I do want to read this letter. So how about you give me some cuddles while I do that, and afterwards, we can snog so I can remind you how much I like you."
James made a face. "Do you have to read it first?"
"I could always read it after, but I do plan on getting some sleep tonight." Sirius held the letter up, off to the side. "Your choice."
"Why do you have to read it at all?"
"Two reasons. One, I like it when people say nice things about me."
"I say nice things about you."
"Yes, but you always do that. I want to be drowned in compliments, and one person cannot achieve that. Two, they go to all this trouble, and I can be a bit mean at times, but I'm not going to stomp all over their heart if I can help it. Reading their notes is the least I can do. Besides, they did buy me flowers."
"Roses," James said, clearly not over that.
"Would it really make you feel better if they'd gotten me a flower I liked more?"
"No."
Sirius leaned forward and kissed him. "Then shut it." He opened the letter. It was similar to the few before it, where they said that Sirius was wonderful and they admired him. "Hell, Jamie, they might not even fancy me, and they just like my brain or summat."
James snorted. "As if." He glanced down at the letter in worry as Sirius opened it. "Moony and Wormtail said it's not that bad and I'm just overreacting."
"Which, for us, is a normal reaction."
James took that for the comfort it was meant to be and smiled at him. "Exactly."