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James woke up feeling as light as air. He was wrapped in silk sheets with a head resting on his chest on one side and an arm slung around his waist on the other.
Of course, the feeling wasn't to last.
He gently moved Lily's head to the pillow and kissed Regulus's hand as he extracted himself from his grasp. His heart was like lead in his ribcage, sinking all the way down to his stomach.
He loved them both, loved the day they'd had before, loved the night as well, but he knew it couldn't last. He was intruding on them both, on their relationship.
Everyone loved them, loved them together. They were both beautiful and kind and generous and it was impossible not to have heard of them, especially in such a small town. James wasn't a part of that. It was always Regulus and Lily. They'd been best friends for years, dating for a couple of months and everyone had been delighted for them both. James was just the lucky bloke they'd decided to experiment with. He happened to be an old friend of theirs from high school but that was all he'd ever be.
He walked downstairs to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. He'd be out before they even woke up but he needed this coffee to wake him up. He was still wrapped in the comforting tendrils of loving arms and restful sleep. He needed to shake himself out of it.
James sat down at the table, nursing his coffee with both hands. He took a sip and winced at the scalding temperature.
"You'll burn your tongue off one of these days."
James jumped at the sound of Regulus's voice. He let go of his coffee and ran a hand through his hair.
"Look, I'm sorry. I'll get out of your house," he said, standing up and pushing his chair in. Regulus frowned, grey eyes squinting at him.
His dark hair was falling over his face and he was wearing nothing but joggers, showing off his pale skin and the matching pink scars on his chest. He looked serene, gorgeous. James remembered the night before, remembered how Regulus looked in that bar, laughing and clutching onto Lily's hand, and his heart ached.
"You haven't had your coffee," Regulus said.
James winced. "I was thirsty. I shouldn't have rooted around in your kitchen. I'm—"
"If you say 'sorry', I will strangle you," Regulus said, groaning and rolling his eyes. He took a seat and patted the table, gesturing for James to sit too. James did. He wasn't sure what else he was supposed to do.
"Lily's snoring away upstairs," Regulus said when it became apparent that James wasn't going to say anything. "She's like a lawnmower."
He said it fondly with a twitch in the corner of his mouth and his eyes soft and glazed over. James huffed, thinking of the night he'd had with Lily's lips near his shoulder, parted and letting out breaths and sighs as she slept. It had been perfect.
"You snore too," Regulus continued. "Honestly, the pair of you."
James chuckled. "I know. My mum used to get annoyed with me when we had to share hotel rooms."
Regulus smiled, looking at the table. "I think it's cute."
James was a bit taken aback. No one had ever called him cute before. He wasn't supposed to be cute. He was handsome and manly and an athlete. He wasn't cute. But there was something about the way Regulus said it that made James want to be the cutest person on the damn Earth, just for him.
The stairs creaked and both James and Regulus turned their heads to the door as Lily walked in. She was dressed in a large t-shirt that went down to her thighs and she was beaming as she leaned against the doorway with her arms folded.
"Hello, boys," she said.
"Morning," Regulus said. "Would you like pancakes for breakfast?"
Lily's beam became even brighter still. "I'd love some, thank you, darling. I trust you both slept well."
Regulus nodded, getting up and heading to the stove and Lily looked to James.
"Like a baby," James said. He was still mildly in shock that he was in the presence of them both, and that they were acting so normal and domestic about it, like he wasn't the third wheel that he was.
Lily came over and kissed his curls. "Good."
She ran a hand along his shoulder, up his neck and cupped his face, her nails lightly scratching his skin. James was confused as anything but he was in heaven.
Lily leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.
She pulled back and grinned at him.
"You're bright red, honey," she said, her hand slipping off his face. James mourned the loss. Lily went over to hug Regulus from behind, inspecting his work as he cracked open some eggs into the jug. She kissed his neck sweetly and tightened her grip.
James wanted to go over there and hug them both, kiss them both, be with them, but he was doing his usual thing of getting in the way and he knew it.
"I'll be off then," he said. "This was fun."
Regulus and Lily turned to him with twin looks of distorted pain and confusion.
"Fun?" Lily said. "Yes, it was fun. But why would you leave? Don't you want pancakes?"
James frowned. "Can I stay for pancakes?"
"Of course you can," Regulus said. "Why wouldn't you?"
"I wouldn't want to intrude."
Regulus and Lily shared a look and Lily sighed. She took Regulus's hand and they walked over to James, each taking one of his hands too.
"James," Lily said slowly. "You're an idiot."
James was a little affronted. "Thanks."
"No, I'm serious," she said. "You're not intruding. You're… You're like part of us. We've known each other since high school, back when we both had the biggest crushes on you."
"You what?" James blinked but Regulus and Lily were still standing there with those adoring looks on their faces.
"We actually bonded over liking you," Regulus said, laughing. "Then we fell for each other too. You've basically been in this relationship since the beginning."
"We really care about you," Lily pressed on. "That's why we were so happy to see you in that bar. That's why we want you to be with us."
She squeezed his hand and James dropped her and Regulus's hands to pinch himself. Lily snorted.
"Love, this isn't a dream," she said. "You don't have to answer right away. You don't even have to say yes. Just know that we would love you to be our boyfriend."
"What would people say?" James said.
Regulus shook his head. "Who cares about that? They can all piss off."
James felt a grin starting to spread across his face. "And you mean it? You both want this?"
"More than anything," Regulus assured him.
James let out a breath. "Okay. I don't understand why you'd want me but I know I want both of you so much."
Lily yanked him and Regulus into a hug, kissing both of their heads.
"We'll work on your self doubt," she said. "It can be a team project."
James grinned. He could hardly wait.