Hello! I'm sure you don't remember me, as I disappeared of the face of the fanfiction world for a while. But I'm back! Apologies to any readers of my last two fanfictions, I hit a wall with the stories and ended up deleting them and just hiding for a while. This is a Valentines/Birthday present for my lovely wife and best friend, so I hope you like it, Ciara! As you can tell I suck at both titles and summaries, so thank you for giving this a chance!

I've not written in quite a while, and I've never written this pairing before, so I have no idea whether this will be awkward or sloppy or just bad. Ok, I'll shut up now – I hope you enjoy, and any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Mentions of Teddy/Victoire, James/OC and, of course, eventual James/Teddy.

From an outside perspective, the Burrow seems quiet. Chickens lazily peck and scratch at the ground, idly enjoying the last of the summer sun. A few brave gnomes saunter up to an old ginger cat, who growls quietly as the approach. The whole place seems unusually calm, and unnaturally empty of life.

That is, until a pudgy five year old shatters the illusion. Five-year-old James Potter barrels out of the front door, running as fast as his stumpy legs can manage. His exasperated father is in pursuit, as his mother and grandmother watch from the window, laughing.

"James! Young man, you give me that back, immediately!" Harry tries for a stern tone, but his lips quiver as he fights off a smile. James laughs giddily shaking his father's wand vigorously. Silver sparks shoot from the tip, singing the ginger cat's tail. Harry can't contain his laughter as Crookshanks the Second shoots of to the safety of the house, where he can hear Hermione baby-talk the vile creature into calming down. He turns back to his son just as James whacks an unfortunate gnome on the head. The gnome lands flat on its back, unmoving. James pokes it, concerned, but giggles when it jumps up and chases him. Squealing, he runs farther away, still clutching Harry's wand. The boy is so preoccupied with his prize that he doesn't notice the older boy standing in his way until it's too late.

James looks up from the mud into a pair of shining amber eyes. "Teddy!" he shrieked joyously, reaching up to the older boy. Teddy huffed but complied with a small smile, swinging James up onto his hip and deftly removing the wand from his small hands.

"Teddy!" Harry called happily, running to the boy to retrieve his wand. "Got to keep an eye on everything with this one," he muttered, nodding towards James. Teddy grinned, and Harry clapped him on the back. "Great to see you. How's your Gran?"

"She's great. Sends you all her love - would've come herself, but she's busy with -"

James zoned out, much more interested in Teddy's hair. The boy ignored him, continuing his conversation with pause, but his hair grew longer and brighter till James was covered by a mass of electric blue curls. The child shrieked with delight, fisting the hair in his hands. Teddy was so cool.

A crowd of nervous first-years are huddled, staring reproachfully at the tattered old hat that will soon determine their fate. James is surrounded by new friends, all of whom stare around with wide eyes, taking in the beauty of the school. James catches Teddy's eye – the seventh-year shoots him a grin from the Gryffindor table, his hair split between ketchup red and peroxide blonde. James raises an eyebrow, but can't help but laugh as Teddy's nose bulges and takes the appearance of a lion's muzzle, earning him a few worried glances from the rest of the Gryffindors. James turned back to his friends, feeling a little more at ease.

When Professor McGonagall, the steely-eyed Headmistress, called his name, all the anxiety rushed back, and hit him like a brick wall. He stumbled up to the Hat, holding his breath as it fell down over his face.

A raspy voice whispered in his ear. "Ah, another Potter. Your father was rather tricky, yes." James tried to suppress a shudder – the disembodied voice chuckled, and continued, "You'd do well in Hufflepuff, Loyal, and they can teach you to work hard."

Hufflepuff? James thought incredulously. There is no way in hell I want to be a Hufflepuff.

"Oh, picky like your father, eh? Very well, I suppose your other option would be – GRYFFINDOR."

The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers, as James bounced over, beaming hugely. He received hugs and handshakes from those around him, and Teddy waved and grinned from further down the table. This was going to be a good year.

James sat at the window of the common room, gazing down at the school grounds. The sky was streaked with purple, and the full moon shone bright and clear, illuminating the scene. Hogwarts really was beautiful at night. James, however, was in no mood to be admiring the view.

"What're you doing up?"

James turned his head sharply to see a figure silhouetted against the common room entrance. The figure moved forward, and James twisted his mouth up in a pathetic attempt to smile. "Couldn't sleep," he replied. "Why were you out at –" James checked his watch, "-three in the morning?"

Teddy grinned sheepishly, running a hand through his steely blue hair. "Was out with a – friend," James rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what that meant. "Guess I just lost track of time." Teddy slumped down next to him, nudging James with his elbow. "So what's this I hear about you and Sean McLaggen?"

James froze, and mumbled, "Don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come of it!" Teddy bumped their shoulders together gently. "I have it on good authority that you two were seen disappearing behind the greenhouses together. Didn't reappear for quite a while, I heard."

"I don't want to talk about it."

Teddy heard the slight quiver in James' voice, saw the single tear trace the curve of his cheek. The playful smile slipped off his face.

"Tell me what happened."

His voice was quiet and commanding. James turned to face him, and his face crumpled. Teddy pulled him into his arms, feeling anger flare up as he held James' shaking body tightly. They stayed that way for a few minutes, until James drew in a shuddering breath, and was still. There was a few beats of silence.

"I thought he liked me," James whispered, so softly that Teddy almost missed it. Teddy was silent, waiting for James to continue. "H-he seemed so nice. I – liked him. But then I tried to talk to him afterwards," James exhaled, a choked sob breaking his steady voice. Teddy tightened his hold on the boy. "He looked right through me." James looked up at Teddy, his brown eyes brimming with tears. "Like I was nothing."

Teddy shut his eyes, pulling James under his chin. He breathed deeply, calming himself – getting angry at McLaggen wouldn't help James, not now. The silence was broken by James mumbling, "I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be nice."

Teddy chuckled. "Hugely common misconception, I'm afraid." James nodded in agreement, clearing his throat and moving back to wipe at the tear-tracks streaked down his face. Teddy smiled, hair whitening and skin sagging until he looked at least fifty years older. "Back in my day," he began, with a deep, rasping voice, "First years spent all their time studying. Why, I never even came out of the library till fifth year! You whippersnappers, no priorities!"

James snorted. "That impression was horrible. It sounded like some hexed your vocal chords."

"That's how old people sound." Teddy informed him sombrely, his face relaxing back to normal.

"Is not."

"Is too! That's what my Gran talks like."

James snorted again. "Andromeda sounds nothing like that. You sounded like a hag."

"Are you calling my Gran a hag?" Teddy asked, eyes narrowing in mock anger.

"What? No, I –"

Teddy pounced on James, poking and prodding and tickling until the boy was begging for mercy. Both were still for a moment, Teddy practically straddling James. James pushed him off, and sat up, pulling Teddy into a bone-crushing hug as he did.

"Ribs!" Teddy gasped, but returned the hug, fondly ruffling James' hair. "What's that for?"

James pulled away to look into Teddy's eyes. "Thank you." At Teddy's quizzical look, he shrugged. "You always know how to make me feel better."

Teddy chuckled, and without thinking, leaned in to press a feather-light kiss to James' nose. James stared, startled by his closeness, but neither boy had any desire to pull away. James could feel Teddy's breath fanning his face, could see his eyes, currently a deep blue, flickering uncertainly between his eyes and his mouth. James leaned forwards a fraction, and –

Suddenly, Teddy's warmth was gone. James' eyes, which had been half-closed, snapped open, and he saw the other boy turning away, heading towards the stairs.

"Goodnight, James," Teddy said in a pained voice. And then he was gone.

James ran a hand through his unruly hair, shaking his head. What the hell was that?

As a third year, James was used to the bustle of Platform 9 ¾. In fact, this year it all seemed quite tedious. He'd got into a fight with his dad for teasing Albus about his Sorting, and Lilly had been whining all morning about being abandoned by her brothers. He wandered moodily across the platform, feeling his mother's eyes on him. Groups of nervy first years flocked together, with shiny new books and noisy new pets. James scowled as a particularly giggly group of second year girls passed by, making eyes at the son of the infamous Harry Potter. Famous by association – it was irritating and so very tiresome.

He turned a corner, to escape the eyes of his mother and his peers – and froze. Teddy Lupin was pressed up against the wall, his mouth being ravaged by a shorter blonde girl – who James realised was his cousin, Victoire. It looked like she was eating his face.

"What are you doing?"

The two broke apart, Victoire scowling and flipping her hair – Teddy just looked rather dazed.

"Just – seeing Victoire off," Teddy wriggled away slightly, very aware of Victoire's body pressed against his own. She tutted and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to his neck, murmuring, "I'll write to you?" He nodded in response, kissing her chastely. She pushed past Teddy, muttering "Thanks for nothing, kid,"

James shot Teddy a disgusted look – what the hell did he think he was doing, kissing Victoire? Teddy just looked at him, defiant yet unsure. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then snapped it shut. James gave him A Look, then turned on heel and strode back to his family.

"Teddy was kissing Victoire."

This barely even earned him a glance from the assorted Potter-Weasley families.

"Didn't you hear me? My – our Teddy! Kissing Victoire! As in, our cousin Victoire!"

Nothing, apart from Lilly, who broke out of her moody reverie to say how nice it would be if Teddy married into the family. And James agreed – ignoring the sick feeling that swirled in the pit of his stomach at the thought of Teddy marrying Victoire. After Teddy graduated, James had seen less and less of him – he was still a frequent visitor of the Potter household, but generally spent his time playing with Lily or Albus. Things were strange between the two – they'd had a massive argument when Teddy found out about James' on/off relationship with Sean Mclaggen. Sure, the guy was bad news, but it wasn't serious, and James had to admit he liked the attention – especially as it wasn't from crazed fans of his dad. Teddy, his voice heated with fury like James had never heard, told him he was settling for being treated like nothing, and didn't he remember how he felt when Sean blew him off, and that Teddy wouldn't be there like he was last time – and then Teddy stopped, and his face became blank, just like it did every time James tried to talk about that night. He had stiffly told James he could do better, then left. After that, their interactions had been short and awkward.

James was snapped back to reality when his mum pulled him in for a tight hug. "Be good?" she begged. He smirked at her, and she just laughed, kissing him on the cheek. He turned to board the Hogwart's Express, telling himself he couldn't feel Teddy's eyes boring a hole in the back of his head.

The air is crisp, and the Burrow looks shiny and new, its many imperfections covered by a blanket of snow. It looks like something off a Christmas card – the windows are pleasantly frosted, snowflakes drift down softly onto the lopsided snowmen scattered around the garden.

Teddy Lupin is not appreciative of the view. He wants it to be dark, cloudy, stormy, anything to reflect his mood at the so-called most wonderful time of the year. He is perched on a fencepost, looking over the house. The Burrow is packed with assorted friends and family, and one very angry ex-sort-of-girlfriend. Victoire had not been understanding – that was not in her nature. She was fiery, hot-headed, short-tempered, passionate – all of which amounted to a blazing row when he tried to end things. His heart just wasn't in it anymore, he tried to explain, he couldn't carry on – she was too pushy, too demanding. He scowled at the ground, hair darkening with his mood. Looking up at the house, he could see a figure in the window, laughing at some unknown joke, eyes crinkling adorably. Teddy caught himself smiling as he watched James, how he smiled, how he laughed, how he frowned confusedly when he looked up and caught Teddy's eye. Shit, Teddy thought, looking back at the ground quickly. He chanced a fleeting look, to see James return to whatever he was doing, but with a tiny smile on his face.

Teddy could feel his heart pick up its pace a little, felt a familiar swirling feeling in his stomach – this was bad news. There was no way he could be attracted to the cousin of his ex, someone considerably younger, and considerably less female than his previous partners. But Teddy couldn't deny how he longed to be close to James, how he wanted to punch something every time he thought of James with that complete arse McLaggen. His fists clenched automatically as he pictured James with that –

"What's wrong?"

Teddy jumped – he hadn't even noticed the front door opening, or the little girl waddling towards him in her many layers. Teddy suppressed a smile – she looked like an adorable penguin. Lilly stopped about a foot from him, calmly observing him. He pasted on an overly bright smile, knowing she wasn't fooled for a second.

"Nothing's wrong, Lil, it's Christmas!" The girl gave him a sceptical look, and trudged through the thick snow to lean against him. Automatically, an arm curls around her shoulders, offering slight protection from the chill.

"Is it the same thing James is sad about?" she asked him morosely, staring up at him with wide eyes. Teddy frowned at her. "What? What's James sad about?"

She pressed her lips together in a thin line, and shook her head. "Can't tell," she told him. He sighed, and squeezed her shoulder. As she leant her head on his knee, he heard her talk again, so quietly he had to struggle to hear. "Will you make James better? I don't like it when he's sad. Too quiet and all – mopey,"

Teddy laughed quietly. "Mopey?" She nodded seriously. "I'll see what I can do," he promised. She beamed widely, then dragged him inside to join the party.

Christmas at the Burrow is anything but peaceful. There's always something to be done, which made it a perfect distraction from everything. James never got a chance to dwell on his dismal love life or his pathetic crush. He'd ended his 'relationship' with Sean – permanently – after accidentally saying someone else's name during a rather heated moment in an abandoned classroom. Sean hadn't seemed to mind, but it had been a rare moment of clarity for James. After several sleepless nights, James had come to the terms with the fact that he had feelings for this person. Unfortunately, this person was six years older and until recently was dating his cousin. Aunt Hermione was overjoyed when she found out that he and Sean were finished – she'd thrown a fit when she found out who his father was, and Uncle Ron had turned a rather nasty shade of purple. His dad, barely stifling his laughter, had told him it was best not to mention Sean to Aunt Hermione unless it was news of their inevitable break-up.

His grandma was wonderful at finding him jobs. Molly was delighted that she had someone willing to be her slave for once, and so piled on job after job. Four hours of jobs later, his mum had forced him to take a break, and so he had taken refuge in one of the rooms upstairs. Unfortunately, a lull in work meant more time to think. And time to think generally led to thinking about –

"Hey."

Teddy groaned quietly as Teddy sat down next to him, balanced precariously on the windowsill. Teddy heard and chuckled, and then there was silence. It wasn't particularly awkward – neither felt the need to immediately fill the silence, and so they stayed like that for a few moments.

"So, I was thinking –"

"So Lilly was telling me –"

They both stopped, and laughed. Teddy shook his head, closing his eyes slightly, and James took a moment to stare, before Teddy's eyes were back on him. James gestured for him to talk.

"So, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," he aimed a pointed look at James, earning a small dig in the ribs. Rubbing his ribs, he glared jokingly at James, who merely smirked back – the two fell back into the old routine, playful, toeing the line between friendly and flirtatious – it was comforting, in a way. "Anyway, Lilly was saying you were upset about something."

James leaned back against the cool glass of the window, saying nothing.

"Anything I can help with?"

James almost laughed at that. He turned to look at Teddy, but stopped, having no idea what to say. Exhaling gently, he closed his eyes to gather his thoughts. Suddenly, so quickly he wasn't sure if it even happened, a pair of lips pressed lightly against the corner of his mouth. Eyes snapping open, he saw Teddy, so much closer than before, his pale green eyes filled with uncertainty and hope. James reached up a hand to touch the side of his mouth – he could still feel the ghost of Teddy's lips, cool against his burning skin. All he could do was stare as Teddy leaned in again, slowly, allowing James plenty of time to move away or push Teddy back. He stopped, mere millimetres from James, waiting for the other boy's reaction. Taking a breath, James moved in to meet him.

It was slow, and soft, and completely new yet somehow familiar. Teddy's arm coiled around his waist, as James' hand wound itself tightly in his hair, holding him close. James traced the curve of Teddy's bottom lip with his tongue, feeling light-headed. Teddy moaned a little into his mouth, the noise doing strange things to James, and moved down to mark James' neck. James clutched at Teddy, fearing if he let go for a second then this moment would slip away, or cease to exist.

As it was, the moment was shattered by an understandably irate part-Veela, who screeched and stormed away upon seeing her straight ex-boyfriend locking lips with her male cousin. The boys broke apart, breathless. There was a pregnant pause, then James let out a tiny giggle.

"What?" Teddy smiled back at him, pulling James close.

"I guess there's no hope of keeping this between us now, is there?" James laughed, settling against Teddy's collarbone.

"Did you want to keep this – private?" Teddy asked him, sounding slightly wounded.

James pulled away to look into his eyes. "No," he whispered, blushing lightly as Teddy pressed a kiss to his nose.

"Time to face the music, I suppose," Teddy stood, offering a hand to James. The shorter boy took it gladly, lacing their fingers together. Teddy turned to go, but James stopped him, and he turned to see the boy nervously chewing his lip.

"Teddy – what are we? I mean –"

"I know what you mean," Teddy assured him, capturing James lips between his own, running the pad of his thumb against the soft skin of James' hand. He knew what the other boy wanted. "James, will you be my boyfriend?" James nodded slightly, kissing Teddy again.

"We better go, or Victoire will spoil our chance to see the looks on everyone's faces," James joked weakly, and the pair made their way downstairs. There would be problems, and both knew it – they would be separated frequently and for long periods of time, there would be hate and ignorance from people who didn't understand, there would be arguments and fall-outs and furious silences. But as Teddy looked down at James, who reached up to press a soft kiss to his cheek, he knew it would be worth it. For as long as James would have him, he'd be there.

Always and forever.

Oh my Lord that ending was so cheesy and bad –hides-

Ok, well, I hope you enjoyed! As I said, I would love to hear from you, and be as harsh as you like (as long as it's constructive!). Thanks for taking the time to read this piece of fluffy nonsense!

[and for anyone who didn't catch on, Sean is the son of Cormac McLaggen, Hermione's 'friend' in HBP]