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James was not sure why Lily didn’t like him, but it was clear she did not. He found her totally cool, funny and so nice, but he knew when he wasn’t wanted, and frankly, not even his ego could take all of this rejection. So he stopped asking her out and moved on. He decided that if she wouldn’t date him, they should at least be friends. So he made sure to always say hello, invite her to join them at meals and occasionally join her and her friends in the common room--Sirius, Remus and Peter in tow, obviously.
James was sure he really wanted to date Lily, to hold her hand in the hallway and laugh at jokes only they would understand. He wanted what Sirius and Remus had--those annoying blokes were so happy all the time, holding hands and kissing and enjoying time on the grounds together. He was sad that Lily didn’t want to do those things with him and even sadder that his best mates had abandoned him (okay, they hadn’t but he really did need a lot of attention).
When his mates abandoned him again in favor of some time together, he went out to the pitch to sulk and was surprised to run into Reggie Black. He had never spent much time around Sirius’ little brother, but he knew Sirius enough to recognize the expression on Reg. He seemed so annoyed. Reggie must have been arguing with someone (Walpurga, most likely). Reg huffed upon seeing Potter on the field and instantly turned to leave. He wasn’t sure why he did it, but James grabbed his arm to stop him. “I think there is plenty of room for us both to fly off some anger, I’ll leave you alone, I promise”. And just like that Reggie mounted his broom and took off. James mounted his own broom and took off in the opposite direction.
The boys flew circles around each other, grumbling about their own issues and ignoring each other. ….until they crashed headfirst into each other and starting hurdling towards the ground. James thought quickly and wrapped Reggie in his arms, casting a cushioning charm below them just in time. The boys fell on top of each other, staring at each other for a moment that felt like forever. James had never noticed now green Reggie’s eyes were. Reggie had never seen the way James’ eyes crinkled when he smiled that mischievous grin. Remembering where they were, the boys stood up, brushing off their uniforms and James started off towards the castle.
This time, it was Reggie who stopped him. ‘Wait’ he shouted across the pitch. ‘Want to walk together? And that is how Reggie and James started spending their free time together. They talked about the drama in the Black house, theorized about the quidditch world cup, complained about their workload, and talked about everything they could. They always started off flying around, but the more times they met, the more they wanted to spend time sitting in the grass and talking about life. When they were done, they would reluctantly head back to the castle one at a time. They were enjoying their chats and flights, but they did not want everyone to know they were friends.
As the spring arrived, the boys found themselves spending more and more time out on the pitch and around the grounds together. They planned it out and agreed to meet every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday evening to hang out together. James would tell the other Marauders that he was going out for some additional practice. The boys would groan, telling him he was no fun anymore, but James promised that they could plan another big prank soon, so they relented.
Reggie just left, the Slytherin boys giving him a little side-eye, but mostly uninterested.
Eventually, their relationship started to evolve. They sat closer together, gazed more deeply into one another’s eyes, and talked about things they never told anyone. On one particularly beautiful evening, the two were laying on the pitch staring at the constellations, trying to find ´Regulus´ and ´Sirius´ when James reached out and intertwined his hands with Reg´s. He was sure that Reg would pull his hand away, but instead, he felt a gentle squeeze and let out the breath he did not even realize he was holding. The pair laid there for quite a while, smiling and staring at the stars together, fingers intertwined.
After that they held hands as much as possible, sometimes cuddled up together and even shared a few kisses under the moonlight. Neither of them talked about what they ´were’ or what they were doing out on the pitch, but they were happy. It got harder to spend time apart, so they started meeting out there even more under the guise of ´extra practice´. The marauders grew increasingly annoyed at James´ absence, but they wanted to crush the Slytherins at the next match, so they let it go, grumbling amongst themselves. Quidditch was a full-time commitment, but not even James Potter needed to spend every moment practicing. BUT he was playing so well that nobody doubted his extra flying late at night and early in the morning. This gave James just enough time to talk and cuddle with the one and only Regulus Black with no one the wiser. So that Tuesday night, James headed off to 'fly' like every other night. BUT he forgot one thing...his broom.
James and Reg were planning a picnic for just the two of them out by the Quidditch pitch. James was ready to ask Reg out….officially. The two started out like they always did, holding hands and smiling like idiots. James opened his mouth to share how he felt with Reg, to tell him he wanted to go steady and that he might very well be falling in love... But they never got to that part of the conversation. Right as their conversation turned serious, they heard footsteps and looked away from each other to see Sirius, Remus and Peter staring back and holding James’ broom.
For what felt like forever James and Sirius stared at one another with their mouths open. Peter tried to look away. Reg became very interested in the pastries, carefully avoiding eye contact. Remus cleared his throat and asked, “What is this? Are you two...dating”? Reggie and James looked at each other for a moment. Reg took James´ hand in his, lacing their fingers together. James nodded at him. Reg said, “Yes we are, and I have never been this happy.” He kissed James on the nose and beamed.
The marauders stared at the couple, mouths agape. James thought about how his friends must be feeling for a moment, but he knew they would still be best mates. For now, he was too happy to worry about what anyone else thought. He beamed at Reggie, reaching over to grasp his hand again while they shared this moment. He didn´t know what the future held, but for now, he was so happy.