Disclaimer: Anything you recognise, I don't own.
Author's Note: My first fic, so reviews are appreciated! I like getting feedback and constructive criticism is always welcome!
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James Potter did not expect to get let out of detention early on Thursday night because Slughorn was in an unusually good mood. He did not expect Dumbledore to be walking in the halls in bright pink robes, and he did not expect Lily Evans to smile warmly at him as he climbed into the Gryffindor common room.
He certainly did not expect to open the door of his dormitory to find Sirius Black and Remus Lupin having sex on his bed.
After standing stupidly in the doorway for a few seconds, James recovered his wits and silently left the room as fast as he could, taking care to shut the door silently behind him and praying that he hadn't been seen. He then booked it to the Quidditch pitch to do some much-needed thinking.
After about half an hour of flying and thinking over what he had seen, James began to get angry. He landed, put him broom away, and made his way back to the Gryffindor common room to see Remus working nonchalantly on his homework, hair slightly ruffled, and Sirius nowhere in sight.
James entered his dormitory and found Sirius on sitting on his bed, back turned to James.
"Hey Padfoot." James had resolved to talk to Sirius about what had just happened.
"Hey." Obviously, Sirius was in no mood for talking. James, never being one for subtlety in conversations, especially ones with Sirius, decided to just drop the bomb.
"So- you and Moony had a good time up here?"
He saw Sirius' shoulders immediately stiffen. "What do you mean?" Came the strangled reply from the boy sitting on the bed.
"Oh come on, Padfoot, I saw you two! When exactly were you going to tell me about this?"
No reply.
"Well, how did it start?"
Nothing.
"So are you two dating, in love, or…"
"God, James, it's just a fuck, okay? Why do you always have to know everything anyway?"
James felt a wave of anger and protectiveness crash over him. Shaking slightly, he calmed himself and walked over to where Sirius was seated on the bed. Sirius didn't move and turned his face away from his friend.
"It may just be a fuck for you, but Moony's different. I know him, and so do you and you know that he's looking for more. Sirius, I've seen how you treat the guys you get involved with, you never commit, and they always end up broken hearted. You're my best friend, but so is Moony and I swear, if you do anything to hurt him, I'll make you regret it. Don't fuck with his emotions."
James was going to say more, he felt he had a pretty good monologue going there, but he immediately stopped when Sirius turned his face towards him. He looked terrible- he had circles under his eyes, his hair was unkempt (for once in his life), and James just began to notice that Sirius seemed skinnier than usual. Sirius looked tragic, hopeless, worn out. He laughed bitterly.
"How about if Moony does anything to hurt me? What will you do to him?"
James was at a loss for words. After a few seconds he spoke up,
"You love him, don't you?"
"Yeah, James, I love him."
"How long?"
"About a year now. It all started after the fucking Willow prank when he wasn't talking to me. For those couple months, I felt horrible- it was the worst time I ever had, and that's including being disowned and Regulus turning his back on me. I realized then that I was hopelessly in love with him." Sirius paused for a second, and his eyes began to hint at watering. "After Remus started talking to me again, I was elated. But our relationship changed. It was probably easy for him to see that I was interested. So one night-it was that night you and Pete got so drunk you passed out in the Room of Requirement- after quite a few Firewhiskeys, he got into my bed. And the rest is history- we've been doing this for about three months now."
"So why do you look so unhappy? Isn't this what you want?"
Sirius looked affronted and slightly shocked.
"What I want? A quick, unemotional fuck? It's always on his terms- he tells me when, where, and I always follow like a kicked puppy or something. We don't even kiss. It's…animalistic. No feelings involved. Why the hell would I want that?"
James said nothing- he could think of nothing to say. After what seemed an eternity of an awkward silence, James made a decision.
"Mate, I'm sorry I got pissed at you. God, I judged that situation all wrong. I should have known you better. If there's anyway I can help you, you can count on me. Unrequited love sucks"
Sirius scoffed
"I know it does, Sirius. Just remember- we're dealing with similar situations, okay? So if you want to talk, let me know."
"Thanks, Prongs. How is that going, by the way?"
"She smiled at me when I was coming back from detention! I swear! She smiled at me! Or it could have been at Alice Prewett, who was standing behind me."
Sirius laughed, and James was glad to at least have done that for his friend, even if it did sound slightly forced. Chuckling slightly and patting his friend on the back, James changed into his pajamas and slipped a bit wearily into his warm bed.