A/N: I've decided to upload all my fics into a single account. eye of the beholder until let the walls break down were originally only uploaded to my AO3 account, callingthequits. Then I went back to my roots and thought, "Hey, why not post it on Fanfiction too?" so here I am.
Yes, the title is from Ours by Taylor Swift.
The one thing they always get wrong is that they're not in love. They love each other, yes; but in the end they have their own significant others to come to.
Teddy has Victoire, who is graceful and smart and kind of a dork. Victoire has Teddy, who is bubbly and touchy-feely and is kind of a dork too. James doesn't have Andretta, not yet, but everyone knows it's just a matter of time until she rolls her eyes and asks him herself.
Because James loves laughs and he loves her, but he's not loud by nature. He is quiet and will gaze from afar, too shy to tell you that his heart beats with yours. James will never tell you he loves you, but it's there, even while subtle. He will comfort you, and he will hold you, he will put up with overzealous hugs and kisses to his cheek, he won't say no, and he'll still be there. He cooks breakfast in the mornings when Harry and Ginny are too exhausted from work to wake up, he gives advice to Al when he needs it, and he will do anything for Lily to never stop smiling, even buy her the world's most expensive broom for an upcoming Quidditch match. He will stay with you by your hospital bed if you ask, even though he's a Healer and he has so much work to do.
He will never say he cares, or even outright likes you.
But it's obvious that he does, and Teddy loves that about him.
(He's always teased Al about being sorted in Slytherin. When it finally happened, Al burst out in tears in an empty Charms classroom because he thought he was a disgrace to the family. James found him later, and reminded him that there were plenty of Slytherins out there who were good and Slytherins who were bad, and that he can make the choice to be one of the good and that Houses didn't matter just as long as you be a good boy, Al, just don't ever prank McGonagall, she will rip you a new one if you do, swear it on my Moonblaster 360.
James never told Teddy he did it, but when Al came by at Christmas Break and he was grinning and showing off that he was a Slytherin, yeah, suck it, losers and James was smiling to himself in the background, Teddy put the pieces together.)
Teddy loves near goddamned everything about James Potter. He loves that James has messy brown hair and that no matter how tired or exhausted or overworked he is, his brown eyes will never lose that twinkle. He loves that James doesn't really care who you are, if you're good, hell, that's good enough for him. He loves that James is a total bookworm even if he will probably never admit it, even though he has two bookshelves in his room and some hiding in his drawer because they all couldn't fit. He loves that James will sing in the shower, that when he's singing his favorite songs he doesn't care who's listening anymore, he will belt it out and will act as if nothing happened if you ask him about it. He loves that even though he's quiet and actually responsible and kind of a model student, he still has this streak of mischief that all Potters seem to have, because when he graduated from Hogwarts he literally did it with a bang that turned all of Hogwarts orange, and he grinned at everyone and said, "Don't forget about me, alright?"
So Teddy will sometimes hold James close to him, breathe in his scent, kiss his cheek, laugh when James blushes, and he loves that it's so easy to make James blush.
Everyone else will look at them and they'll think they're dating, or about to be, or even married to each other. And they'll ask, thinking they're right, but Teddy will burst out laughing and James will stutter indignantly, and they'll realize, no, they're wrong, how can they be wrong?
And Teddy tells them, "I really love James, I do, I swear, but I'm not in love with him, I don't, I swear." They'll raise an eyebrow, say, "Sure you don't," but they don't realize that he's telling the truth.
He holds James tighter when they leave, because Teddy is a mellow guy, he is, but he hates that just loving a person means that they're automatically in a relationship. Teddy loves Harry, and vice versa, but Harry's still happily married to Ginny, isn't he? Teddy's still happily thinking of marrying Victoire, isn't he? James usually just sighs, twists his way out of Teddy's grip, and they go to Florean Fortescue's, because Harry loves Florean Fortescue's and they've been influenced.
Teddy will get chocolate, and James will say he wants nothing, but he loves strawberry and mint so Teddy just smiles knowingly and orders chocolate, yeah, shut up, James, I know you want some too, yes you do, don't deny it, so chocolate and a mix of strawberry mint, please? You know the drill, Floyd, and make it snazzy.
James scowls but he accepts the glass, he always accepts the glass. He mutters unintelligible things and glares at the metamorphmagus when he thinks Teddy isn't looking, but he accepts the glass.
He accepts what people have to offer, because he knows that they ask for nothing more, but expect nothing less. So when James thinks that Teddy isn't looking, he will smile, and Teddy feels strangely humbled by that.
So, in conclusion, Teddy loves James. He does, he really does, but not in that way. Teddy will give what he has to make sure James is healthy and good and happy, he will gladly exchange himself for James, he will make sure that James knows that he is loved. But Teddy isn't in love with James, because he has Victoire and she's more than enough.
But he will coddle and hug and kiss James' cheek, he will fret and worry and be a shoulder to lean on, he will be there and he will stay, and Teddy doesn't understand why people think it has to be that kind of love. There are a lot of kinds of love; this is theirs, and they're not shy about it.
Teddy Lupin loves James Sirius Potter, and he will gladly shout it from the rooftops.
And James won't, because he's James, but he will accept the glass, he will accept Teddy's love, and give back some of his own. And maybe sometime he will say those words, but not now, and Teddy's happy with waiting.
(For all their lives, practically everyone says how they'd be a cute couple. Teddy's hair burns bright red, James can't help himself from laughing, but when they leave, James looks at him in a silent thank you for staying. Teddy usually grins, hair turning back to normal turquoise blue, and grabs James in a one-armed hug. And it's pretty much like that forever.)