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James enjoyed his life. It was something simple, domestic– something he wasn't used to. Growing up, especially around wizards, there was never a dull moment. Whether it be the harmless pranks played between the houses at Hogwarts, or the spells gone wrong that caused mishaps everywhere, nothing was simple.
Having Harry was the best thing to happen to him, despite every other circumstance surrounding. Lily, whom he had gotten together with years previous to their son's birth, was the most caring mother someone could ask for. Even though the two had broken up shortly after their child was born, due to Lily discovering herself and her sexuality, they stayed close friends and shared the custody of Harry between them.
Now, James was twenty-four, Harry being four himself, and he swore he could feel the gray hairs beginning to grow.
Harry was a toddler, full of energy and childish wonder. He loved the world around him– saying good morning to all the neighbors, petting the stray cats he found alone on the streets, meeting new people and saying hi to anyone who would listen.
When James started dating Regulus only a year previous, it was a happy change of pace. Harry loved Regulus immediately, and James thought it was the most amazing blessing he had ever been given.
Regulus visited often; to have dates with James, or just to hang out at the house with him and Harry. It was such a simple but welcome pace they were going at, and neither had any complaints.
However, summer had rolled around quicker than expected. Before long, Harry was out of daycare and back at home full time. On the weekdays, Harry would stay with James, and the weekends he would stay with Lily.
Lily also loved Regulus, which James considered lucky. They had all grown up together in Hogwarts, but after they had left after 7th year, the entire group vowed to stay together. Regulus happened to get mixed in with the group as he was Sirius’ brother.
Lily still hung out with James, despite their breakup, and it wasn't too long before they had their own respective partners. Lily had Mary, who Harry couldn't stop talking about for nearly a month after being introduced, and James had Regulus, who was seemingly adored by everyone in James’ life.
James loved Regulus with every bone in his body, every cell within his bloodstream. Loving Regulus was like a breath of fresh air after suffocation. It was natural, and James loved it– loved him .
Harry loved Regulus too, as much love as his little body could hold. It wasn't long before Harry wanted to start calling Regulus Da . It was cute, and a bit spontaneous, but out of fear of moving too fast with the relationship, James attempted to get Harry to kick the habit.
James and Regulus had been planning a day out with Harry for a while. Regulus had taken a few days off from work as a breather, and there was nothing he would rather do than spend time with two of his favorite people in the world.
As the day rolled around, James was filled with excitement and anticipation. Harry seemingly felt the same, and for the few days before the date, he would happily cheer about it whenever he could.
The morning rose, and James walked quietly into his son's room, seeing him peacefully asleep. The room was decorated with all sorts of toys and trinkets, most of which came from all over the place and across Harry's many interests.
There were cars, little figurines of action models from Harry's favorite movies, all sorts of marbles and buttons that Harry had found from various places he had visited since he loved collecting small trinkets for memories.
James loved his son, and all of the things that contributed to the person he was and would grow up to be.
James gently awoke Harry early in the morning so the two could prepare breakfast together– something Harry had been begging to do recently. It took a little fussing for his son to wake up, until he remembered the day and the plans that they had, where he then promptly sprung out of bed happily.
James had a fond smile stuck on his face, watching his son dance happily through the halls of their apartment and off to the kitchen where they could begin to cook together. He already had a cup of coffee brewing as he lifted Harry up in the air and onto his shoulders so he could easily see everything.
“What do you want for breakfast, bub?” James asked with a yawn, taking a sip of his coffee once he had added milk and sugar to the drink.
“Hmm,” Harry responded, thinking thoughtfully as he played with his father's curls. “Can we make waffles, Papì?”
James laughed quietly. “We had those last week, are you sure?”
Harry giggled and cheered. “Yes! They tasted so good last time.”
“Okay bub, let's grab the ingredients and we will get those all ready before we go visit Reggie. Sounds good?”
Harry giggled again, nodding enthusiastically. “I can't wait to see Da again! Do you think he will like the picture I drew at Mama's?”
The picture was a sweet one. It was a picture of Regulus with a big flower next to him, the sun shining above them. It was a messy one, made with crayons and through various scribbles, but a very lovely drawing at that.
“I think he will hang it on his fridge,” James smiled as Harry excitedly giggled about the sentiment.
Once the waffles were made and served on some paper plates, James let Harry down and into his high chair so they could begin to eat their food.
“Amor, you have got to slow down. You'll get a tummy ache if you eat too fast.” James tsked, watching his son eat his breakfast quicker than usual.
Harry huffed. “But I want to see Da!”
James shook his head. “What did I tell you about calling Reggie Da ?”
Harry frowned and slumped in his seat. “Don't do it,” he pouted.
“Good,” James sighed. “You didn't do anything wrong, we just need to make sure he's ready for that before you begin to call him your Da.”
Still, the two finished eating very quickly, ready to get a start for the day.
James let Harry run off to his room so that he could have a little time to play with his toys before they left to meet up with Regulus, and so James could have time to properly get ready for their day.
He picked out some clothes, and went to the bathroom to shave and get a quick shower in before he changed. Once he was finished, and satisfied with his appearance, he found his son again and picked out an outfit for him.
“You want to wear your gray sweater and jeans, bub?” James asked, holding the outfit out for the latter.
Harry nodded happily, feeling the sweater beneath his hands. “Can I wear the Batman pin with it?”
James only laughed and threw him a quick nod.
When Harry was changed, the two left their flat and went to meet up with Regulus at a local playground that Harry loved to visit.
It was a little rundown place in the middle of town, with a set of swings and some climbing equipment surrounded by walking trails and flowered fields. Not many people visited it, besides those going on walks with their dogs or somewhere to take a quick smoke break before visiting the nearby shops.
Harry, though, loved it. He loved to climb all over the place, and jump off the swings when he was high enough, even racing people down the slides. He loved being taken there, practically begged whenever he could to do so.
Harry and James walked hand in hand — rather, Harry's hand gripping onto three of James' fingers — to the little park. Regulus was already there when they arrived, sitting on a bench whilst holding a smoke between his lips.
Harry let go of his father to run off to Regulus, climbing on the bench and into his lap as fast as he could manage.
“Hello, you,” Regulus smiled, ruffling Harry's hair as he put his cigarette out on the bench and tossing it in the bin nearby.
“Reggie! Look at what I drew at Mama's!” Harry exclaimed eagerly, pulling his picture out from his pocket. He unfolded it quickly and held it up for Regulus to see in its entirety.
“It looks so good! Did you draw that all by yourself?” He asked, taking hold of the drawing.
Harry nodded enthusiastically as James finally caught up to them, pressing a kiss on the top of Regulus’ head.
“Bub, why don't you give Reggie the drawing so he can keep it in his bag and then we can go off to the aquarium?” James smiled softly, and fondly at that.
Harry did as he was asked, proceeding to hop off Regulus’ lap to grab James’ hand again while they waited for Regulus to get ready to leave.
Regulus stuck the drawing in his bag that was laid across his torso, before standing up to walk with the other two. Harry giggled and jumped up and down, before grabbing Regulus’ hand with his free one.
The three walked together, Harry swinging their arms as they went along. James and Regulus were in a comfortable yet quiet conversation whilst Harry took in his surroundings, giggling as he saw dogs and birds alike.
They walked across a few streets, getting to the pier that held the local fairground. It wasn't much, but it was something nice to do on a day like that.
Harry was excited immediately, greeting the ticket vendor enthusiastically.
When the passes were bought, they immediately went for a ride suited for smaller kids, one with rockets that lifted into the air and back down again in slow circles. Harry loved it, likely because of the feeling of being in the air, rather similar to when James was a child.
They went on a few more children's rides, including a taxing round of bumper cars, before opting for a ferris wheel that gave an amazing view of the city and the beach beside them. It was one of Regulus’ favorite things to do at the pier especially.
When they were done and got off of the Ferris wheel, they went to grab a bite to eat, and visited a few of the booths at the pier, full of different games to win prizes at.
James loved playing the games the most, loving the rush of winning, especially for someone else. He first played ring toss, in which he was able to win a stuffed monkey that Harry fell in love with immediately. Then he played a ball game, where he hit stacks of bottles down with a couple throws. There he won Regulus a medium sized black bear, which Regulus huffed about before taking and holding it close to him.
Once they had finished eating and playing along the pier, James led the two to the next location, one he knew his boyfriend and his son would enjoy.
When they arrived at the aquarium, Harry squealed in delight. Regulus smiled at Harry, loving to see how happy it made him, however the looming cases of water sent chills down his spine. He loved the adrenaline of being in the water, and adored all sorts of oceanic animals, but his fear of drowning haunted him. It was cute how much Regulus learned about different kinds of creatures, especially the ones that Harry was particularly interested in.
They started walking around the aquarium, Harry insisting that they go see every animal that was in the enclosure. It started with fish, such as Zebrafish and even a few Betas, then to more different kinds of creatures like starfish and eels.
Harry loved the starfish the most from that area, made apparent by the jumping and pointing the toddler was doing upon spotting the creature.
The next exhibit they visited was one that held axolotls, which happened to be James’ favorite type of marine animal. Harry also happened to love axolotls, and the aquarium had a large display housing three of them– a blue one, a gray one, and a slightly red one.
The trio spent quite a while looking at that section, before moving to another room. The next room had more scattered types of creatures, a notable one being an urchin. It wasn't the most interesting of rooms to Harry, so they left rather quickly.
The next place in the aquarium was a tunnel. It wasn't a usual tunnel, rather one that was made of glass with all kinds of animals swimming above. It allowed everyone to see a bunch of different kinds of creatures, like sharks for one, and watch them all move above and beside the viewers.
James, Regulus, and Harry all loved that exhibit of the aquarium. It was interesting, and different compared to the rest of the building. They spent the most time in the tunnel room, just observing the species above them as they lived.
When they did leave the room, reluctantly so, they went to a special room in the aquarium that had interactable exhibits. Harry spotted a worker showing a girl around his age how to properly touch a stingray, which was swimming in a long, open tank.
Harry looked back at James, bouncing on his heels. “¡Papí!” He exclaimed. “We can pet it. Can we? Please?”
James looked at Regulus, then at the exhibit, and nodded to his son. “Of course we can, bub,” he smiled as he lifted Harry up so they could participate next.
Harry happily listened to the set of instructions the worker gave to him, including how he had to wash his hands, then stick his hand in the tank very slowly, before gently petting the stingray on display. When Harry was done, and washed his hands again to be safe after petting the animal, he immediately started jumping around happily.
“That was the coolest thing to ever happen to me!” Harry exclaimed, giggling. “Da, can you believe it? I touched a stingray!” He smiled, looking up at Regulus.
James winced at the name Da being used for Regulus, and took a deep breath of anticipation for the reaction that was going to follow.
However, to James’ surprise, Regulus just lifted Harry up in the air and spun him around, giggling with the boy. “I know! I'm so proud of you, I'm sure it must've been quite scary touching an animal like that.”
“I'm very brave! Papí says so,” Harry smiled proudly, full of self satisfaction.
Regulus chuckled as he put Harry back on the ground. “Your Papí is very right.”
James was taken aback and stood a bit dumbfounded with the situation at hand. He was slightly shocked with how well Regulus took to the nickname, one that quite obviously implied how Harry viewed Regulus– as a father figure .
James didn't think Regulus would be upset about it, rather that he would just be panicked with how fast they were going. However, that didn't seem to be the case at all. Something in Regulus’ eyes seemed to sparkle brighter than James had seen in a while.
Regulus, too, was laughing with Harry and they continued walking off to a small, local restaurant in town that was run by a few of their friends. James eventually snapped back to reality, and ran to catch up with them. He scooped up Harry into his arms, spinning him around as his son laughed brightly.
James’ heart practically swelled with joy. There was nowhere else he would rather be.
James carried the sleepy Harry into the flat, Regulus closing the door softly behind them. Harry was yawning and rubbing his eyes, due to it being late out and having just had an eventful yet fun day out.
James led Harry up to his room, helping him change into pajamas, before tucking him into bed. Regulus walked in after Harry had gotten into bed, pulling out a book from a small shelf on the other side of the room.
Regulus sat down beside Harry's bed, beginning to quietly read to him as the child fell asleep at last. When Harry had fallen into his slumber, James leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead, to which Regulus did the same.
Softly, as not to wake the boy, Regulus slid the book back into the shelf, and the duo left the room in silence. When they had gotten to the kitchen, and Regulus had begun to brew some raspberry tea on the kettle, James cleared his throat.
“So..” James began, biting his lip with worry.
“So?” Regulus raised a brow at his partner.
“How are you feeling? With the whole.. Harry calling you Da thing.”
Regulus poured the water into a mug, stirring the tea in. “Am I supposed to mind?” He smiled softly, hiding it in his shoulder.
“Well no, I suppose not, I was just worried about if it would be too soon, or if you wouldn't be ready for it, or–”
Regulus cut James off with a soft kiss to his lips. “It's okay. I love Harry, of course I don't mind. You two are my home, my people, it only solidified that for me.”
James sighed softly, his mind easing at last. This was his home, somewhere he wouldn't give up for the world.
This was his, and he was finally at peace with it.