Disclaimer: I own nothing recognisable.
"Are you going to be much longer?" James called through the closed door, his ear pressed against the wood as he waited for a response.
"No daddy, I need more minutes!" Harry's muffled response brought a grin to James' lips as he glanced at the clock.
"Okay, but we need to leave really soon buddy," James reassured, before softly mumbling under his breath, "we're definitely going to be late."
oOo
"Daddy, help! The stickies are in my hair!" The yelping call echoed through the flat, followed by a dull thump.
"Don't worry Harry, I'm coming," hurrying into the room, James stopped suddenly, desperately fighting the urge to laugh at the sight before him. Poor little Harry had tumbled off the bed, sticky tape wrapped up in his hair while paper lay shredded and crumpled across the duvet covers. With a few waves of his wand and some nifty silent spell work, James made the tape disappear completely while a new roll of wrapping paper flew into the room, landing with a soft thump on the bed.
"Okay, perhaps I should have helped with the wrapping," James murmured softly. Picking Harry up and placing him on the bed, he made a quick check for any bumps or bruises. "How about I wrap the present Harry? You did a great job with the card, so I'll do this. We don't want to be late for the party."
oOo
They were late. Somehow James had once again underestimated how much time it took to get a toddler ready and out of the house, but now they were thirty minutes late and hurrying up the path to his best friend's cottage. He gripped Harry's hand a little tighter in his own as he shifted the carefully wrapped present under his arm and knocked gently on the door.
As the door opened, laughter and music billowed out of the welcoming home, grey eyes and black hair turned in their direction, and for one moment James held his breath.
"Alright Prong, you really need to work on your time keeping skills," Sirius grinned, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the squirming toddler trying to wriggle away from his dad's side.
"Harry!"
"My Paddy," he squealed, reaching out to his godfather.
"Here, take the little devil," James chuckled as he let go of Harry's hand, watching the little one shoot off towards Sirius. With a shy grin, James raised the present until it caught Sirius' eye. "Where's the birthday boy?"
"In the kitchen, and I'll have no tomfoolery going on in there please," while his voice was teasing, James could see how happy Sirius was from the glint in his eyes.
Wandering into the kitchen, James noticed how much quieter it was in comparison to the rest of the house that happened to be shaking from the noise. Children screamed and laughter echoed through the rafters of the home, all accompanied by some soft rock music Sirius had playing on the old record player in the corner of the living room. In contrast, the kitchen was practically silent bar the slight humming coming from the man James had been searching for.
James hadn't loved someone like this since Lily. it was new and he felt so clumsy and shy as he made his way towards the slightly younger man who hadn't even noticed his presence in the room. Falling for Regulus had been something that James had never anticipated, at Hogwarts he had always been Sirius' younger brother (and a Slytherin) meaning he was never on James' radar. But after Lily passed, and James was left to raise a baby, he realised he hated to be alone. He needed someone to love and cherish, and he also needed someone to remind him to take care of himself.
Regulus had somehow managed to needle his way into James' life, and then his heart without James even realising it at first. He'd helped to care for Harry, taking him on days out and looking after him when he was sick, all with a smile on his face. He had somehow managed to weave his way into their lives until there was no other option than to become a family of three, James couldn't bear the idea of Regulus one day leaving them.
He moved forward, wrapping his arms around Regulus' waist, nuzzling his face into his neck "Happy birthday my love, I'm sorry we're late."
"As long as you're here I'm happy James, where's Harry?"
"Running around in the garden, I think he found Draco and forced him to play." Regulus chuckled softly, knowing that Draco was as weak as he was when it came to the males in the Potter family. "Do you want your present?"
James slipped a small box into Regulus' hands as he placed the larger one (with a big label saying 'from Harry' stuck to the side) onto the counter top.
"I'll save the bigger one for later, I'm sure Harry would love to help me unwrap it," Regulus mused softly as he carefully peeled away at the bright wrapping paper until he was left with a box. It was long and slightly flat, and James could feel the confusion building as Regulus flipped it in his hands.
"What could even fit in this?"
"Just open it."
As Regulus popped the lid off, James tightened his grip around him ever so slightly, the nerves building as he watched his boyfriend. Nestled inside the box was an ornate bronze key, a key to Potter Manor.
"A key?" Regulus gasped. He couldn't quite fathom what was going on as he clutched the key in his hand, but he could feel his heart beginning to pound, bursting with hope and excitement over what it could possibly mean for them.
"Move in with us?" James questioned softly, Regulus' jaw dropping immediately in response.
"What?"
"Move in with us," he reiterated calmly. "We want you to be a part of our family, permanently. I've talked it over with Harry and he's all for it, even offered you his beanbag if you want to share his bedroom. I'm hoping you'd be more inclined to share with me though. So, move in with us and make us a proper family?"
Regulus had felt love before, perhaps not in the most conventional of ways, but he had experience loving another and also being loved. Yet in that moment he had never felt as loved as he did now.
"You really want me to move in?" His words were cautious, testing that this wasn't a joke and James really did want for them to be a proper family.
"You complete us Reggie, and nothing would make us happier than you moving in."
"I'd love to," he whispered softly, tears clawing at the corner of his eyes as the feeling of pure love and happiness overwhelmed him. "You both complete me too, and I can't wait for us to be a family."
"I can't wait either."
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