Originally post on tumblr. Very long A/N after story.

I still can't believe I'm posting my fanfic here, since the last time I've written anything was 10 yrs ago.

"J-James," said Peter. He couldn't stop stuttering. He knew this day would finally come and he had to face James eventually, but oh how much he wished this so call eventually would never had to come.

"Peter," acknowledged James. His voice was steady; there was almost no emotion in his voice. Almost. Here he was, standing in front of the man who was responsible for his own death and his wife's, and most importantly, his non-existing chance to participate in his son's life.

"You were lucky," said James with a ghost of smile on his lips. He seemed… proud? "You were lucky it was Harry you had to face back then. We wouldn't be that nice, that's for sure. Harry has a kind soul that none of us can compare with." He was definitely proud.

"James, I-I…"

"If you were here to ask for forgiveness," James cut him off, "fine, I forgive you. I think you've already suffered and paid your price, more or less anyway. Quite frankly, I don't hate you anymore." He stared straight into Peter's eyes, and Peter felt naked. "Besides, despite his miserable childhood, Harry turned out to be a decent human being." James added bitterly. Whether it was for his son's terrible childhood or his never being a part of his son's life, Peter didn't know, and he didn't dare ask.

"I'm sorry." Peter blurted out; he then shifted his gaze down to the floor, his head low. He couldn't look at his friend, or rather former friend, in the eyes. How could he? He didn't have the face to. He did betray the man in front of him and shift the blame on Sirius. All that for what? The powers he'd wished for was never meant to be his; he never had any and never would get any. Every poor decision he had ever made led to this situation and he had to face the consequences.

"As you should be." James replied, rather harshly. "Like I said, I forgive you. If Harry can, so can I. But I don't think I can ever forget what you did to him. To us." James looked tired, like he had been arguing with himself for quite some time.

James turned around, starting to walk away. "I suppose I'm not the only one you're apologising to," shouted James over his shoulder. "Good luck with the others." He waved.

Just like that, he was gone.

Peter just stood there, alone, looking at where James was before he disappeared.

"Thank you."

A/N:

This one is a stand-alone. There might be more chapters to come, and will all be stand-alone but somehow connected. But until then, I don't promise anything.

This concept has been in my head for about 5 yrs. I've always wondered what it would be like on the other side. Would these characters meet? What would they say to each other? How would they react? One of my earliest concept is about Lily thanking Molly for taking care of her boy.

This story is Peter-centred, but I didn't write this to redeem him. (tbh, I couldn't care less about this guy.) I wanted to explore the reaction of James, (and maybe Lily and others in the future,) and his emotions towards the whole situation regarding his son. I didn't want James to say "I'm proud of Harry" or "My son is amazing" out loud; that'd be too obvious. Probably ooc, but let's be honest, we know very little about Adult!James.

Writing is fun, but also very exhausted. Shout out to every writers out there, especially the ones I follow: You're truly amazing.

And I still can't really tell why I write in English; Grammar is hard.