Hair thrown over his eyes, James stretched. "Pillow, mate. And I'll tell you all about a drunk Weasley and oh!" He perked up suddenly, trying to raise himself and look around the room.
"There's a bit of pepper vodka left, and the food the house elf brought. I thought I sent it up here." He started to scramble, though woozily. James could drink like a fish, provided he'd eaten first.
He hadn't. He'd tucked right into the bottle without even a cracker for breakfast and it was showing. He was too affectionate by half and as steady on his legs as a one year old.
James was all hands and no legs, and he could barely sit up, let alone get off the bed and walk around. Sirius gently attempted to push him back down into the bed.
"Stay there, mate. I'll get the vodka and the food." He started to get up himself, but then had a better idea. Kicking off his shoes and then nudging James over, Sirius got into the bed himself and laid down next to James. He patted his stomach. "All right, lie down where you wish." With the hand closest to the edge of the bed, Sirius pulled his wand out of his robes and pointed it through the opening in the wood panelling.
"Accio pepper vodka and food from the house-elf!" Sirius hoped that was specific enough and that no one had left any old crusts of bread lying somewhere around the room. He certainly didn't want to be deluged by old, mouldy sandwiches from the room's previous occupants!
Wicked grin in place, at an angle because he was happily sloshed, James keeled over and settled against Sirius.
"Ow! Damn it, Pads. Don't they feed you here?!" He shifted, and wriggled and shifted and then got hit on the head with a packet of crisps, and then another and would have grabbed Padfoot's wand to make a net or something above them to catch the food, but he'd just been hit by another packet. It was a sandwich. It hit him right in the groin.
"Bloody fucking hell!"
James covered his crotch with both hands, half pouting, head turned into Sirius' shoulder to protect his face. He never saw the quarter full bottle of home made pepper vodka come hurtling towards them.
Sirius laughed as he dropped his wand to catch the bottle of vodka. "You're more drunk than I thought. I can't come up with any other reason that a little ham and cheese in the willy would hurt that much." He took a swig from the bottle. "Not bad, this stuff."
Looking down at James, he said, "I think all the food has arrived. You can remove your hands now, unless you have some other purpose to be shielding little Prongs." Sirius leant over and grabbed a packet of crisps and the sandwich that had hit James's groin. Then, realising his hands were occupied and there was nowhere to put the food, Sirius put everything down again, cradling the vodka bottle between his knees. He picked up his wand, pointed it in front of him, and said, "Adaugeo Finis!" The wood panelling moved out a couple of feet from the bed at all sides. Sirius then ordered the panelling closed and conjured up a couple of bedside tables. He put the food and vodka on the table next to him and began to open the crisps and the packet containing the sandwich
( ... )
He closed his eyes, relaxing into the touch, but arched a brow to look both quizzical and skeptical. "You'll be bringing people in to shag. I'd rather that didn't happen on my bed."
He took another bite of his sandwich. "Not even for Moony, would I want that in my bed." James smiled a bit. "Though I'm glad you two idiots made up. I didn't know how I was going to have to slap sense into you both." He shrugged.
"Well you, yeah. But like you said, Moony's a Professor. And he'd never let me put him over my knee anyway."
Both eyes opened, sharing a wicked twinkle. "You're the traditional one." He was glad, really, that Pads had his other friend back. Moony was more part of this world and time than he was. They should have each other. A flicker of sadness crossed his face, but James brushed it off and took another bite of food.
"Actually, all the shagging I've done so far has been elsewhere." There was Cooper in the hospital wing and Homsar in the Astronomy Tower. Wow, that was it? Sirius shook his head sadly. "And, unfortunately, there hasn't been a lot of it. Now that's disappointing. I'm going to lose my reputation soon." He continued twisting James's hair distractedly. "But you make a good point. I'm sure you'll be bringing in all sorts of birds to shag, and I, for one, don't want to sleep in your wet spots." Sirius felt a bit sadder as he said this. It was strange to think of James with girls other than Lily.
And another sad thought. "I--I don't think Moony and I will be shagging in my bed, or your bed, or in anyone's bed, for that matter...as much as I'd welcome it. But at least we're friends again." Sirius really was thankful for that. But it also hurt to think that Remus would never understand him the way James does, that he, Sirius, belongs more in James's world than Remus's--and that Remus would never really understand why or think it was a valid
( ... )
"Ugh... shags." He finished his sandwich and turned, resting his head on Sirius' shoulder and spilling the crips onto Padfoot's chest, licking the salt off his finger tips as he ate each crisp one by one
( ... )
Sirius looked down at his crisp-covered chest. First a pillow, then a house-elf, and now a plate. What would James have him be next? Well, whatever it was, Sirius would be glad to do it. Having James alive and next to him was the best thing ever, and if it meant he had to impersonate a Muggle coffeemaker, he would do it without hesitation.
Although he kept his face impassive, Sirius was fairly relieved to hear that James didn't expect to be going bird hunting anytime soon. He truly couldn't imagine James with anyone else besides Lily, and he knew how hurt Lily would be if James were to date anyone else. Under normal circumstances, like those of twenty years ago, Sirius would have protested James's assertion that he'd be shag free for some time, but with the way things stood, Sirius had no desire to encourage him towards other women.
Instead, he said, "Yes, yes, wizarding chess, walks, Exploding Snap, whatever you like. And if you're asking if I'll return the favour from the other night, you know I'm good for it, Prongs. Hasn't it
( ... )
Sirius wasn't Snivelous. And he was right, it was bloody unfair. "Wrestling? You grabbed me." James shook himself all over, and shifted on his feet, looking up at Sirius in the air.
"Felt like Slytherins - and I didn't start anything, mate. I pulled back, that's all. Kept to my own space. That's all I wanted."
He eyed Sirius a moment, war, but then said the counter-curse that'd lower and turn Sirius over to land him on his feet. But James followed it up with a leg-locker.
"You know, officially, I am a Slytherin, and--" Sirius would have continued, but just then James cast the countercurse and Sirius fell to the bed with a thump, the wind knocked out of him. After a few seconds, he caught his breath, but when he went to push himself back to where he had been lying, next to James, he discovered his legs were completely immobile.
"Prongs, what the bloody hell? Undo it, will you? Or give me my wand, and I'll undo it!" He attempted to reach for his wand, which James was still holding, but being unable to move his lower body, he mainly ended up grabbing at the blankets.
He lay still for a moment and then said quietly, "And you sure didn't want your own space just earlier, or the other night, or twenty years ago." It was a throwaway line, but undoubtedly meant to elicit a reaction.
"It's not twenty years ago, Sirius!" His eyes narrowed. "You're not from twenty years ago, mate. Look in a mirror sometime."
James tossed Sirius his wand. "We're best mates and we'll always be. But twenty years ago, we'd have been evenly matched. The other night you picked me up like I was nothing but a sack of potatoes. You're strong for all you look half starved, Pads."
James shrugged. "And I don't know what spells you've learnt in the meantime. Might find myself tied down for Rictusempra." James smiled a bit. "Or who knows what devilry. Wouldn't put it past you to have a spell or three up your sleeve."
"I'm well aware of what I look like, thank you, Prongs. Twelve fucking years in Azkaban isn't good for the skin, you know." Sirius tried to roll over, to turn away from James, but since James hadn't removed the Leg Locker Curse yet, all Sirius could do comfortably was turn his head in the other direction, towards the edge of the bed. He rested it on his arms and spoke at the wood panelling, away from James.
"I wouldn't do anything to you, you know that. Well...maybe Rictusempra. But I wouldn't tie you down. That sounds more like something you'd do to me. Oh wait, I suppose I am tied down right now, seeing as you currently have my legs completey immobile
( ... )
It was hard not to recognize Pads with the muffled voice, and the squrming body trying to burrow into his arms. James stroked through Sirius' hair.
"We'll work it out, Pads. Promise. Don't we always? We'll work it out. And it's not such a lonely time now, is it. I'm here. You're here." Voice soft but serious, James gave Pads an extra squeeze, holding on in silence a while.
Then he kissed the top of Sirius' head, determined to bring him out of the brooding. He didn't want to think about the sides of the divide crashing in either. "Look, there's still drink left in the bottle. How about we finish it off, and you show me where you've gone and hidden your porn and I'll make jokes about the ridiculous peckers on all those men?"
James's reassurances were helpful, as was his touch on Sirius's head. Still, Sirius found himself wishing things could be different, that there wasn't anything to work out, that when James looked at Sirius, he saw the person he always knew, the person Sirius felt like. Maybe if he got an old photograph, he could try to cut his hair back to the way it was during his schooldays. It would be a small gesture, but perhaps it would help.
He put one hand tentatively on James's arm. "Yeah...we'll work it out. Just...don't Levicorpus me again, all right? I promise I won't hurt you." He sighed and let James hold him for a bit
( ... )
"I'm still soaked enough for more drink." He said with a smile, relaxing as Sirius moved his arm off.
He knew Padfoot wouldn't hurt him. There was no need to say it. It was just the differences, that was all. But he didn't say anything at all. Instead James stayed where he was, with them curled forward into each other, and took a long drink from the bottle, leaving the last for Sirius.
"Y'know what'd go well with this? Firewhiskey? You hiding any firewhiskey, Pads? That's loads more fun than dusty twenty years old porn." So maybe he was just a little bit more eager than usual to get completely pissfaced.
Sirius gulped down the rest of the vodka and then lazily banished the bottle to the bedside table. "You're asking me if I'm hiding any Firewhisky? Such a question shouldn't even need to be asked." Squirming a bit, Sirius reached into his robes and pulled out a fairly sizeable flask. "I've got more down in the Slytherin suite, but I always make sure I'm carrying something." He uncapped it and offered it to James.
"Hey, Prongs? Wanna know something pathetic? You'd think that, with my being twenty years older than you, I'd have had that much more sex. But I really haven't. All those years in Azkaban and then on the run...no sex. And then I was living with Moony in my family's house for a year, but he didn't want to do it, and frankly, I was too depressed for it, if you can believe that. It was only this past year that I finally managed to get a decent, regular shag. Now that's a true travesty of justice, I say." He held out his hand, waiting for the flask.
Grounding touch, warm and heavy on his chest and James put his own hand on it as Padfoot spoke, a slight glimmer of a smile on his lips. He did have Sirius. Not his Padfoot, but Padfoot all the same.
The touch that moved aside his hair had him closing his eyes and sighing again. When his eyes were closed it was almost the same. Almost. Though he couldn't remember ever feeling as lost as he'd begun to feel the moment he'd found himself here, in this place, with these people.
The kiss surprised him. And yet it didn't. If he was feeling this low, this...whatever, what else would Padfoot do? The second brush of lips was just as perfect and right.
But the weight hovering over his body made him open his eyes and the hand he'd been reaching towards Sirius dropped and James shook his head, a slightly plastic smile on his face. "S'alright Pads." He started to shift away, get out from under Padfoot to put them on more mutually even ground.
For a moment, Sirius forgot how much everything had changed. The face beneath him, it was the same, and so were the walls around him and the bed underneath him. And the relaxed, just-right feeling was just what Sirius always knew.
And then James opened his eyes, and at first it was his usual look, his soft, hazel stare, telling Sirius that he was the most important person in the world. But suddenly something shifted, and everything was colder, and James was smiling, but there was something off about it, something not quite okay.
"No, it's not all right. You're not all right." There was no way he was going to let James hold all of this in, refuse to be comforted, but do all the comforting himself. Sirius shifted with James. Placing a hand on his hips to steady him, Sirius leaned down again and brushed his lips against James's, hoping to calm him down a bit, to help him refocus.
He'd promised Sirius he wouldn't use levicorpus on him, which is why the first spell James thought of was Featherweight followed by a hot air charm and a cushioning spell against the roof of the bed.
But it was still a duel, a defense and a strong one. Because someone was holding him down. A Black was holding him down and touching him. Forcing themselves on him.
A tap on a panel of the bed opened it and James rolled out, fluidly, wand still at the ready. His eyes were intense. He was on automatic.
James blinked. This was all the wrong scenario for him to be this much on guard. "Merlin's buggered arse!" There was something wrong here. His brain scrambled to catch up to his reflexes.
One second, James is underneath him, eyes soft and then cold, but still looking at Sirius, recognising him. The next second, Sirius is hovering just under the wood canopy of the bed, his belly unnaturally warm from the gust of air that had hit it a moment before. And James is off the bed, staring up wild eyed at Sirius as if he hasn't a clue who he is, wand pointed straight at him. And it had all happened so fast that Sirius barely had time to register what had happened
( ... )
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"There's a bit of pepper vodka left, and the food the house elf brought. I thought I sent it up here." He started to scramble, though woozily. James could drink like a fish, provided he'd eaten first.
He hadn't. He'd tucked right into the bottle without even a cracker for breakfast and it was showing. He was too affectionate by half and as steady on his legs as a one year old.
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"Stay there, mate. I'll get the vodka and the food." He started to get up himself, but then had a better idea. Kicking off his shoes and then nudging James over, Sirius got into the bed himself and laid down next to James. He patted his stomach. "All right, lie down where you wish." With the hand closest to the edge of the bed, Sirius pulled his wand out of his robes and pointed it through the opening in the wood panelling.
"Accio pepper vodka and food from the house-elf!" Sirius hoped that was specific enough and that no one had left any old crusts of bread lying somewhere around the room. He certainly didn't want to be deluged by old, mouldy sandwiches from the room's previous occupants!
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"Ow! Damn it, Pads. Don't they feed you here?!" He shifted, and wriggled and shifted and then got hit on the head with a packet of crisps, and then another and would have grabbed Padfoot's wand to make a net or something above them to catch the food, but he'd just been hit by another packet. It was a sandwich. It hit him right in the groin.
"Bloody fucking hell!"
James covered his crotch with both hands, half pouting, head turned into Sirius' shoulder to protect his face. He never saw the quarter full bottle of home made pepper vodka come hurtling towards them.
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Looking down at James, he said, "I think all the food has arrived. You can remove your hands now, unless you have some other purpose to be shielding little Prongs." Sirius leant over and grabbed a packet of crisps and the sandwich that had hit James's groin. Then, realising his hands were occupied and there was nowhere to put the food, Sirius put everything down again, cradling the vodka bottle between his knees. He picked up his wand, pointed it in front of him, and said, "Adaugeo Finis!" The wood panelling moved out a couple of feet from the bed at all sides. Sirius then ordered the panelling closed and conjured up a couple of bedside tables. He put the food and vodka on the table next to him and began to open the crisps and the packet containing the sandwich ( ... )
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He took another bite of his sandwich. "Not even for Moony, would I want that in my bed." James smiled a bit. "Though I'm glad you two idiots made up. I didn't know how I was going to have to slap sense into you both." He shrugged.
"Well you, yeah. But like you said, Moony's a Professor. And he'd never let me put him over my knee anyway."
Both eyes opened, sharing a wicked twinkle. "You're the traditional one." He was glad, really, that Pads had his other friend back. Moony was more part of this world and time than he was. They should have each other. A flicker of sadness crossed his face, but James brushed it off and took another bite of food.
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And another sad thought. "I--I don't think Moony and I will be shagging in my bed, or your bed, or in anyone's bed, for that matter...as much as I'd welcome it. But at least we're friends again." Sirius really was thankful for that. But it also hurt to think that Remus would never understand him the way James does, that he, Sirius, belongs more in James's world than Remus's--and that Remus would never really understand why or think it was a valid ( ... )
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Although he kept his face impassive, Sirius was fairly relieved to hear that James didn't expect to be going bird hunting anytime soon. He truly couldn't imagine James with anyone else besides Lily, and he knew how hurt Lily would be if James were to date anyone else. Under normal circumstances, like those of twenty years ago, Sirius would have protested James's assertion that he'd be shag free for some time, but with the way things stood, Sirius had no desire to encourage him towards other women.
Instead, he said, "Yes, yes, wizarding chess, walks, Exploding Snap, whatever you like. And if you're asking if I'll return the favour from the other night, you know I'm good for it, Prongs. Hasn't it ( ... )
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"Felt like Slytherins - and I didn't start anything, mate. I pulled back, that's all. Kept to my own space. That's all I wanted."
He eyed Sirius a moment, war, but then said the counter-curse that'd lower and turn Sirius over to land him on his feet. But James followed it up with a leg-locker.
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"Prongs, what the bloody hell? Undo it, will you? Or give me my wand, and I'll undo it!" He attempted to reach for his wand, which James was still holding, but being unable to move his lower body, he mainly ended up grabbing at the blankets.
He lay still for a moment and then said quietly, "And you sure didn't want your own space just earlier, or the other night, or twenty years ago." It was a throwaway line, but undoubtedly meant to elicit a reaction.
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James tossed Sirius his wand. "We're best mates and we'll always be. But twenty years ago, we'd have been evenly matched. The other night you picked me up like I was nothing but a sack of potatoes. You're strong for all you look half starved, Pads."
James shrugged. "And I don't know what spells you've learnt in the meantime. Might find myself tied down for Rictusempra." James smiled a bit. "Or who knows what devilry. Wouldn't put it past you to have a spell or three up your sleeve."
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"I wouldn't do anything to you, you know that. Well...maybe Rictusempra. But I wouldn't tie you down. That sounds more like something you'd do to me. Oh wait, I suppose I am tied down right now, seeing as you currently have my legs completey immobile ( ... )
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"We'll work it out, Pads. Promise. Don't we always? We'll work it out. And it's not such a lonely time now, is it. I'm here. You're here." Voice soft but serious, James gave Pads an extra squeeze, holding on in silence a while.
Then he kissed the top of Sirius' head, determined to bring him out of the brooding. He didn't want to think about the sides of the divide crashing in either. "Look, there's still drink left in the bottle. How about we finish it off, and you show me where you've gone and hidden your porn and I'll make jokes about the ridiculous peckers on all those men?"
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He put one hand tentatively on James's arm. "Yeah...we'll work it out. Just...don't Levicorpus me again, all right? I promise I won't hurt you." He sighed and let James hold him for a bit ( ... )
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He knew Padfoot wouldn't hurt him. There was no need to say it. It was just the differences, that was all. But he didn't say anything at all. Instead James stayed where he was, with them curled forward into each other, and took a long drink from the bottle, leaving the last for Sirius.
"Y'know what'd go well with this? Firewhiskey? You hiding any firewhiskey, Pads? That's loads more fun than dusty twenty years old porn." So maybe he was just a little bit more eager than usual to get completely pissfaced.
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"Hey, Prongs? Wanna know something pathetic? You'd think that, with my being twenty years older than you, I'd have had that much more sex. But I really haven't. All those years in Azkaban and then on the run...no sex. And then I was living with Moony in my family's house for a year, but he didn't want to do it, and frankly, I was too depressed for it, if you can believe that. It was only this past year that I finally managed to get a decent, regular shag. Now that's a true travesty of justice, I say." He held out his hand, waiting for the flask.
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The touch that moved aside his hair had him closing his eyes and sighing again. When his eyes were closed it was almost the same. Almost. Though he couldn't remember ever feeling as lost as he'd begun to feel the moment he'd found himself here, in this place, with these people.
The kiss surprised him. And yet it didn't. If he was feeling this low, this...whatever, what else would Padfoot do? The second brush of lips was just as perfect and right.
But the weight hovering over his body made him open his eyes and the hand he'd been reaching towards Sirius dropped and James shook his head, a slightly plastic smile on his face. "S'alright Pads." He started to shift away, get out from under Padfoot to put them on more mutually even ground.
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And then James opened his eyes, and at first it was his usual look, his soft, hazel stare, telling Sirius that he was the most important person in the world. But suddenly something shifted, and everything was colder, and James was smiling, but there was something off about it, something not quite okay.
"No, it's not all right. You're not all right." There was no way he was going to let James hold all of this in, refuse to be comforted, but do all the comforting himself. Sirius shifted with James. Placing a hand on his hips to steady him, Sirius leaned down again and brushed his lips against James's, hoping to calm him down a bit, to help him refocus.
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But it was still a duel, a defense and a strong one. Because someone was holding him down. A Black was holding him down and touching him. Forcing themselves on him.
A tap on a panel of the bed opened it and James rolled out, fluidly, wand still at the ready. His eyes were intense. He was on automatic.
James blinked. This was all the wrong scenario for him to be this much on guard. "Merlin's buggered arse!" There was something wrong here. His brain scrambled to catch up to his reflexes.
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