A/N: For the Pairing One Hour Challenge- extra easy, 2 hours to write 1500 words on James/Rabastan with the prompt: Herbology greenhouse. Maybe now that the creative juices are flowing I can get started on all the other things due this week.

"What in the bloody hell is he staring at?"

James turned to look in the direction of Sirius' gaze but it wasn't obvious to him what he was supposed to be looking at. The Greenhouse was buzzing with activity but nothing looked out of the ordinary. Dirt was flying everywhere as students struggled with the newest plant they were studying. This one had teeth.

"Who do you mean?" James asked wiping sweat from his brow. He pulled off one of his gloves to run a hand through his messy hair and adjust his glasses on his nose.

"That Slytherin bloke," Sirius said. "One of the Lestranges. I forget which one. He keeps looking over here."

James smirked and turned so he could casually have a better view. The Slytherin Sirius was concerned about seemed to be concentrating very hard on repotting his Fanged Geranium without losing a finger.

"That's Rabastan," James said, recognizing the expression on the other boy's face. "He's a Chaser. He's probably just sore that I kicked his arse last week. I wouldn't worry about it, Padfoot."

They both had just gone back to work when they began to be distracted by the sound of Rabastan Lestrange aggressively shoving his spade into the hard soil. And when James looked up he saw what Sirius had been talking about. There was no mistaking the dirty look that the Slytherin was sending his way.

"You think he heard you?" Sirius whispered loudly.

James couldn't stifle his laughter which unfortunately attracted the Herbology professor who swooped down on them in an instant. She placed her hands on her wide hips, blue eyes flashing and her face covered in fertilizer.

"Mr. Black and Mr. Potter, why on earth are you torturing your Fanged Geranium? I've told you all that they can be very sensitive to abuse and they don't always realize they can bite."

"Ah," Sirius said. He looked down a made a face at their own plant that he'd forgotten to re-pot and had actually begun to cry, tears falling down it's wilting yellow leaves.

"Ten points from Gryffindor from each of you," the professor continued. "Well? What are you waiting for? Fix it!"

James hurried to correct the mistake, feeling a pang of guilt, ridiculous as it seemed. It was only a plant but apparently plants really did have feelings. Who knew?

As he was finishing his work, he chanced to look up and see a satisfied smirk on Rabastan's face from across the greenhouse. Sirius had a few choice words to say about it, but secretly James felt rather pleased with himself.

The jealous type, he thought. Perfect.

Over the next few Herbology classes, James decided to be more strategic about where he placed himself in the greenhouse, and was careful to catch Rabastan's eye whenever he could. Sirius had forgotten about the incident with the Fanged Geranium before and was happy to make conversation about other things for which James was grateful. He had a feeling that Sirius wouldn't understand.

There was something about the thrill of the chase that Sirius never seemed to appreciate. That Lily never seemed to appreciate for that matter. And James was tired of waiting and admittedly he was also becoming bored with his lack of success when it came to Lily and it appeared to him that Rabastan was more than willing to play along.

What had started as dirty looks quickly became sideways glances and rubbing shoulders in the corridor, until one day the Slytherin stumbled into him on the way out of the greenhouse, holding onto James' shoulder for support before clearing his throat.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "My fault."

His fingers lingered as he let go of James and quickly made his way toward the castle, and later James made sure to take the long way around to his seat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall to capture Rabastan's attention. And James was quite pleased when a note was slipped into his bag asking him to meet Rabastan at the edge of the Forbidden Forest the night after next without Sirius even noticing.

"So."

James leaned against a tree with his arms folded, eyes glinting in the dim light of Rabastan's wand. He definitely noticed the way Rabastan was looking at him up and down. Subtlety was clearly not this boy's strong suit, but James supposed that this was a refreshing change.

The Forest was eerily quiet. The moon was a sliver in the sky and it was incredibly dark. James could hear the Whomping Willow creaking slowly in the distance.

James was rather impressed that Rabastan had suggested they meet here instead of somewhere in the castle where they were bound to be caught. And the fact that Rabastan had followed through and made it all the way down here without getting cold feet impressed James even more. It was a much bolder move than he would have expected from a Slytherin.

"What are we doing out here?" James asked. He smiled at how Rabastan looked taken aback at such a direct question. "We just going to stand here and stare at each other or what?"

"No." Rabastan cleared his throat. A nervous habit, James supposed. "No. I honestly was just... curious."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

Rabastan drew closer, leaves crunching beneath his feet. He held his wand aloft so that they could see and he moved his other hand around, clearly unsure of what to do with it. He finally settled for shoving it in his pocket.

"I've been watching you, see... I mean... that sounds creepy doesn't it? That's not how I meant to say that..."

Rabastan cleared his throat some more and James kept a passive face. He wondered for a moment if he wasn't a bit of a sadist making this boy squirm. Rabastan's eyes glowed silver in the light of his wand and they blinked fast as he attempted to save face. James couldn't help but notice the set of his jawline and the bit of stubble beginning to grow around his mouth.

"What I meant to say was you play a good game of Quidditch."

"I know," James said.

Rabastan smirked and approached a little more confidently.

"And I like that you're kind of cocky about it."

James raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Didn't seem like it in class."

"Yeah, well, the wound was still fresh. I got over it."

"Glad to hear it."

They were close now. Rabastan could reach out and touch him if he wanted to. That's what this was about though wasn't it? Satisfying the curiosity? James waited for other boy to make another move, to commit. To say exactly what it is he wanted or perhaps to just take this into his own hands.

"So," James said for the sake of breaking the silence. "You like that I'm cocky? That's probably a good thing."

Rabastan laughed a bit at that and it was a harsh sound that James wasn't expecting. It resonated deep within him and he moved to lean his back against the tree for more support. Rabastan took the opportunity to strategically place a hand over James' shoulder so that his face was mere inches from his.

"What do you think, Potter?" Rabastan asked hoarsely, his breath warm against James' cheek. "You curious too? Or am I just making a fool of myself here?"

James smirks. "I think," he says and pulls at the other boy's collar. "I think you should shut up."

This was the response that Rabastan seemed to have been hoping for. His eyes shifted to James' lips. He cleared his throat just one more time before opening his mouth to speak. His voice was raspy with lust and it had a similar effect to his laugh and James' knees practically buckled at his words.

"Make me."

So James did.

"Why are you so tired, Prongs?" Remus asked at breakfast the next morning. "I thought you went to bed early."

"I think all those late night Quidditch practices did me in," James said with a yawn, spewing out the excuse that he'd rehearsed before he and Rabastan had even made it back to the castle the night before. "Lack of sleep is catching up to me, I s'pose."

But as he spoke, he caught another boy's eye from across the room who appeared to be just as tired as he was. Rabastan sent a smile his way and tugged at the collar of his shirt under his robes as if remembering the way that James had clung to it the night before.

James shivered at the memory of Rabastan's fingers tracing his ribs, but Sirius' voice brought him back to the present.

"Earth to Prongs," Sirius said in a sing-song voice. "What's gotten into you, mate?"

"Nothing," James said. He helped himself to a piece of toast. "Nothing at all."

But throughout the meal, he continued to give Rabastan a meaningful look across the room as if to say, Later. There will be much more to discover, much more to be curious about. Later.