1
It was James's tenth birthday, and the Potter's living room was cosy and quiet after the day's festivities had largely come to an end. Harry and Ginny sat in the kitchen with Teddy's gran drinking wine like they always did, talking about boring things like work and gran's secret boyfriend who was obviously Kingsley Shacklebolt, like Teddy didn't know. At sixteen, Teddy had been invited to sit with them, but Victoire was playing exploding snap with her cousins, so Teddy was sitting with her.
They were in two teams; Teddy and the Potter boys, and Victoire and little Lily. James slammed his hand down on top of the pile of cards, crying "Snap!" as the cards exploded loudly.
He crowed loudly as Lily said in a wobbly, angry voice, "That's not fair, there's more boys than girls!"
James ignored his little sister, turned to Teddy and gave him a big, wet, happy kiss on the lips. He pulled away after mere seconds and turned to do the same to Albus.
Teddy met Victoire's pale blue eyes over the heads of James and Albus squabbling about whether James should be allowed to kiss Albus or not and Lily's now tearful face. She smiled at him, exasperated and amused all in one, and Teddy smiled back, trying to hide the blush that was turning not only his ears pink, but the roots of his hair too.
2
Six years later, at one of Molly Weasley's many family gatherings, the Burrow was crowded, Teddy's boyfriend was bored and James had abandoned his girlfriend with Ginny in the kitchen. Teddy headed upstairs to find his godbrother and tell him he was leaving at that he should get back and save his girlfriend.
It didn't quite go to plan. As Teddy lifted his hand to knock at the only door with voices coming from it, Fred burst from out, brushing his black hair out of his eyes.
"Hey Teddy," he said with a wink, and rushed off down the stairs laughing.
James's voice was slurred when it came floating out from the room, "come in Teddy!" He sounded, to Teddy, almost like he was trying to be seductive, but that was obviously ridiculous.
If Teddy hadn't been sure about James's drunken state just by the sound of his voice, he would have known as soon as his hazel eyes fell on the sixteen year old boy. He lay, looking rather ruffled, on the bed, his hair even more of a disarray than normal, his eyes wide. He stretched as Teddy looked over him in a way Teddy supposed was supposed to be sexy. Uncomfortable, Teddy took a step back, wishing he'd just left.
"Hey Teddy," James whispered again, obviously checking him out. Teddy shifted uncomfortably again.
"We were just leaving," he said, trying not to look at James, "thought I'd come and tell you."
"You could stay," James said, and Teddy really, really didn't want to look at that face, not with the way he'd lowered his voice like that. He made for the door but was stopped with a surprisingly forceful hand on his shoulder, spinning him around.
Lips were on his before he could stop them, dry and smooth and trying to kiss with an impossible urgency. Teddy felt something twist in his stomach.
"James," he said, pushing the teenager away. "James, you're basically my brother."
It was the wrong this to say, or possibly the right thing, as James turned around and stormed further into the room. Teddy slipped away before James had the chance to do anything else.
3
Teddy didn't see James for three months, and had tried as much as he could to push the memory of his godbrother kissing him out of his mind, but it presented itself, awkward and ugly, in the forefront of his mind when he moved to greet his family after graduating from his muggle university. His gran was smiling proudly, wrapping him tightly in her arms for a few moments, before letting him go to Harry and Ginny. Lily was crying, Albus looked bored, James looked apologetic. Teddy stood before him, unsure of what to say to the teenager, until James's hand went to the back of his head and pulled him downwards. Panic filled Teddy, and he prayed silently to any god or goddess that might listen, to Merlin himself that James wouldn't kiss him here and now, until soft lips met his forehead in a small kiss he'd seen James give Lily and Albus a thousand times. James showing affection to his family. Teddy smiled as he drew back, ruffling James hair and walking with his family to have dinner.
4
James spent six months travelling after Hogwarts. Which was extended to a year. And then to two. Teddy spend most of his 'welcome home' party trying desperately not to stare at him, taking the occasional sip from his beer. He couldn't get drunk, not here and now, four years after James had last kissed him and with James now a man with a strong jaw and broad shoulders Teddy could just imagine himself settling between.
He stood in the tiny kitchen of the tiny flat James had acquired for himself upon his return talking to Victoire for the first time in an age. She was still funny and clever and beautiful, but it had been years since he'd looked at her as anything other than a cousin, and his eyes kept trying to find James without his permission. When they moved back to Victoire, she was smirking.
"I need to go," she announced suddenly. "I've got work in the morning."
Teddy cocked an eyebrow about to complain it was still so early, before he looked at his watch. "Fuck." The hands of the watched lightened from coal black to a midnight blue as they hit one in the morning.
"Yeah," Victoire said, her smirk back, "Dominique is going too. We'll leave you two to it." She winked, and then was gone, Dominque Disapparating moments later.
It was only then that Teddy noticed the only people left in the flat were himself and James. James was drunk, visibly so, and Teddy should go, but James was sitting on the couch, becoming him over with a wave. He went to him, and against his own better judgement, sat beside him.
"I should go," he said, whispering in the sudden quiet.
"You should stay," James argued. Teddy had expected his voice to slur, but it was steady, as if James hadn't had a single drink at all.
The younger man studied Teddy's face for a while, until Teddy could feel a faint blush rising in his cheeks from the attention. James hand crept along the back of the sofa before his fingers tangled in Teddy's turquoise hair and pulled his unsuspecting head towards his own, and his lips pressed against Teddy's in a soft, slow kiss.
Teddy shouldn't have kissed back, he really, really shouldn't have. James was so much younger than him, and his godbrother and drunk, but by Merlin Teddy wanted to. He let himself press back, just for a moment, just to confirm that yes, drunk or otherwise, this kiss was amazing, and pulled back. He lent his forehead against James', unwilling to move too far away so soon.
"I didn't think you'd kiss me back," James whispered, a soft smile playing at his full lips.
"Come on," Teddy said, standing and holding out his hand to James. "We should get you to bed." He didn't look at James, missing the hurt expression on his face, but James took his hand even still, and let himself be lead to the bedroom.
+1
Teddy barely slept a wink, spending most of the night staring up at James's ceiling. He shouldn't have stayed when the Weasley sisters left, shouldn't have let James kiss him, shouldn't have slept in his bed, even if they hadn't done anything. There was so much he shouldn't have done, but he wanted to. He wanted to. Because James was clever and funny and brilliant and gorgeous, and maybe it took him a few years, but he was finally seeing it.
When James awoke, sleepy and messy and sort of embarrassed looking, Teddy gripped his courage by the hilt and kissed him.