Fic: Pursuit of Imperfection (James/Teddy), NC-17, Part 1 of 2
Recipient: gryffindor_j
Title: Pursuit of Imperfection (Part 1 of 2)
Pairing(s): Teddy/James II, hints at Harry/Scorpius
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: None that are not implied by the rating, except perhaps rimming and some light bondage.
Summary: James' dad is always right. At least he thinks he is, and there is no way James is going to let him be right about how perfect Teddy is.
Word Count: 14,000
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author’s/Artist's notes: gryffindor_j, thank you for the wonderful prompts-you left such a delightful, and thorough, list of kinks and likes that I couldn't help but try and include most of them. I hope you enjoy! Everlasting thanks to my fabulous betas.
James banked left. Wet snow hit his face like a stinging hex. He blinked and the flakes melted on his eyelids, dripping in to his eyes. He swung his bat, hard. It connected with that beautiful, satisfying thunk and zipped past the Harpies' Seeker, throwing her off course. The wind blew, harsh and cold, freezing his cheeks and ears. Both Bludgers were at the other end of the pitch, volleying between his teammate and the Harpies' Beaters. He leaned down over his broom and sped down the pitch. A streak of red caught his peripheral vision, but the Bludgers were still twenty feet away. He wiped icy water off his face and light burst behind his eyes. Lightning pain seared through his shoulder and he heard his body hit the frozen ground.
James awoke on the floor of his flat above the Hog's Head. He rubbed his shoulder and, standing, stumbled to the loo for a piss. He looked in the mirror. His black hair stuck up every which way and his bleary hazel eyes stared back at him. He really was here in his room and the accident was a long time ago, he thought, sighing with relief and splashing warm water on his face.
~~~~***~~~~
Southern England was in the grip of a winter storm the likes of which it hadn't seen for fifty years. That suited James just fine. It meant that his shift at the Hog's Head would likely pass without any duels and with a minimum of dodgy under the table deals he had to pretend not to see.
A soft chime announced that someone had a hand on the door. He'd cast the charm to add a warning bell less than two weeks into his employ at the pub, having learnt that it was best not to be taken unawares.
"'Lo, James." Teddy flashed him a bright grin and sauntered over to the bar, his hand in the pockets of a long, black overcoat. His light brown hair was completely white at the top with snow that was now melting in the slightly warmer air inside, making his fringe curl in damp tendrils.
"Why the get-up?" James asked, and then cleared his throat as Teddy shed his coat.
The neat, charcoal grey, Muggle suit jacket fit perfectly across Teddy's broad shoulders. The shirt, lighter grey, was the exact same colour as his eyes.
"Assignment," Teddy said, unbuttoning the suit jacket to sit down. He reached up to loosen his tie and James turned away quickly to pour him a drink.
"Near by?"
"Not really."
"To what do I owe the pleasure, then?"
"Thought I'd say hello. It's been a bit," said Teddy. "Since when do I need a reason to check up on my god brother? Anyway, I thought I'd tell you there are a couple of entry level positions coming up in the MLE in the next month or so. Not anything exciting, but a chance to get in."
"Dad sent you," James said, the pleasant tingly feeling in his stomach fading to a vague ache of disappointment.
The way Teddy flushed told James all he needed to know.
"Well he did mention I should tell you, but he doesn't know I'm here tonight," Teddy said, recovering quickly. "I thought we could have a drink and a visit."
Teddy leaned against the bar with a casual grace and James found it very easy to forget that Teddy wasn't really here on his own, that this was all part of his dad's campaign to get him a real job. His dad also seemed to think that if he got Teddy and James together enough they'd realise they wanted no one but each other. But they'd been around each other all their lives. Teddy wasn't interested.
~~~~***~~~~
The Leaky Cauldron was nearly deserted. With the kids back to school and people recovering from the deep holes left in their Gringott's vaults by the holidays, Diagon Alley was not the bustling place it had been a week ago.
James drummed his fingers on the table and smiled absently at his dad. When he and Ginny had split and Harry moved out, Harry had made a point of spending time individually with each of his children. It was usually a meal or an outing, and now that they were older, a drink. Harry pushed back his chair and made to stand as Ginny made her way to the table. That was another change. After a couple of years, it had been Mum and Dad both at the little get-togethers. James knew that Albus had held hope for years that this meant they were going to get back together. James just saw it as one more way his family was irritatingly, unforgivably perfect.
He loved his parents, he did, but since the accident, all they had done was nag him about what he was going to do to replace Quidditch, and everyone in the bloody family seemed to know what was best for James except James. So he started telling them less, started keeping secrets.
He'd never had anything to conceal before. Everything has always been fairly obvious. He was in Gryffindor. He had the dark hair and hazel eyes of his grandfather and everyone was always telling him he was a perfect cross between both his namesakes. He played Quidditch and he got good marks in school, but not sickeningly-Hugo-good. Even his coming out had been fairly uneventful. He'd told his parents when he was fourteen and they'd both behaved as if it were obvious. He would have a spectacular career, meet another Quidditch player and settle down to a perfect, obvious life.
After the accident, nothing was obvious, and for the first time his parents started giving him constant advice and none of it fit.
"Sit down, Harry," Ginny said, with a fond smile on her face. "I've only just gone to the loo."
"How's work?" Harry asked, turning on James. There was always a slight, pained edge to the question, like he'd just stubbed his toe.
"It's the same as it was last week," James said. "Madame Bell said she'd need me to help with some training and maybe to referee, so there should be some Quidditch this year."
"How is Katie? We should go and see a match and catch up. Don't you think Harry?" Ginny asked. James felt a wave a gratitude for her intervention.
"Yeah, probably. We could take Lily along, see her old coach," Harry said. James thought that the likelihood his sister would want to go to a Hogwarts match with their parents was about the same as his wanting to continue this particular conversation. "So, what happened to your lad? You could have asked him along, you know."
It was so predictable it was almost painful.
"My lad?" James asked. He looked at his mum for help, and Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Yes, Edmund, right?" Harry asked. "The bloke you were with when I saw you last week."
"Edward," James said. Edward was a regular at the Hog's Head. Enough said about him. Dad had unfortunately popped in to say "hello" just as James and Edward had been making their way to the back room for a quick one. "And he is not my lad. He is not my anything."
"Certainly looked like it," Harry said, coughing.
"Lay off it, Harry," Ginny said.
"You deserve better, you know," Harry said, ignoring Ginny altogether. "You're going through men like water, and none of them good enough for you. It just seems really lonely and I know it is not healthy."
"Oh, for fuck's sake," James groaned.
"If you keep it up, he won't come to dinner with us anymore," Ginny said and if he weren't so irritated, the familiar scolding tone would have made him smile. "Not that I'd blame him."
"I don't think Teddy's seeing anyone," said Harry cheerily, as if this were changing the subject.
"Of course he's not," James said. "Teddy doesn't see people, not since the twin disasters of Victoire and Viktor."
"Not that he tells us about, anyway," Harry said.
"He's not interested." James had fancied Teddy since he was a kid, and when his dad began not-so-subtly playing match maker with him and Teddy it stung like nettles every time.
"Would you be if he was?"
"Harry," Ginny muttered under her breath and he realised with horror that they had talked about this.
"You want to know what's really not healthy?" James shook his head in disbelief. "You being so eager to discuss my sex life. That is not normal. Normal parents do not want to know their kids have sex, much less try and help them pull. Couldn't you be just a little uncomfortable about it?"
"Lower your voice," Ginny said, very quietly.
"All right, all right," Harry said. "Dropping it. Here, did you know that Teddy just moved in above George's shop? They gave it to him rent free. Came up with the idea after that bloke tried to break in to their lab. They reckon that no one will try and break in with an Auror living in the flat. We should stop by and say hello after."
James gripped his pint and knocked half of it back in one swallow.
~~~~***~~~~
James kicked his feet onto Teddy's coffee table. Teddy had managed to turn the crummy little flat into a cosy, pleasant space. The furniture all matched, except for the heavy, ornate armchair that that Teddy had inherited from his grandmother. The piece added elegance to the room. Books and family photos were scattered artfully about the room, making it look homey. Every time he visited, he left with plans to spruce up the flat above the Hog's Head that never seemed to materialize into action.
Teddy came back from the kitchen, a plate of sandwiches floating on ahead of him and a goblet in each hand. He always shed his work robes and kicked off his shoes the minute got home from work, James had learned from as much careful observation as he could manage. He wore black wool trousers and a neatly pressed, light blue shirt, padding across the room in his stocking feet. He was nearly as tall as James and as lanky at 30 as he had been at 19, when James had first noticed the way he kicked his long legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles when he sat.
"I think your dad is shagging Scorpius Malfoy. And get your feet off my table." He swatted at James' boots, knocking them to the floor before he flicked his wand, lowering the sandwiches onto the table.
"You're mental," James said, his feet banging on the wood floor as they were propelled off the table. "There is absolutely no way."
He took a goblet from Teddy and inhaled the scent of a good red wine. He didn't know anything about wine, but for some reason Teddy did and James had learned to tell the difference between what Aberforth served as the House Wine and what Teddy usually had just knocking about the house.
"Why not?" Teddy asked. Finally sitting next to James, he leaned forward to grab a sandwich.
"Scorpius always went for fit, hot, athletic types," said James, counting in his head the people he'd seen Scorpius going about with.
"Have you met your dad?" Teddy turned to look at James, his head tilted so that wavy wisps of hair fell across his cheek.
"Oh, ew."
"In any case, I went into work late last night and Scorpius was coming out of Harry's office, looking a smidgeon dishevelled."
"I hope he is."
"What?" Teddy asked. He looked a bit discomfitted that his announcement had caused this reaction. "Why on earth?"
"After all the talks about finding someone appropriate for a man my age, I would love to sit across the table from him while he tells me that."
"You are mental."
"No, everyone else in the family is, except maybe you and occasionally Lily," James said, Teddy's fond smile at this warming him as much as the rich, oaky wine. "Anyway, tell me what it's like to be Uncle George's hired muscle."
~~~~***~~~~
Cold air rushes by him, whistling in his ears and making his eyes water. His heart pounds, that indescribable freedom of being so far above the ground, fierce and determined to protect his team. He banks left and nothing hurts, no twinge in his shoulder, but he knows he could fall at any moment, crash into the darkness to the earth so far below he cannot see where it is. His eyes dart left and right, scanning constantly for that streak of red.
A rush of vertigo threatens to send him tumbling off his broom, but arms circle around his waist. Fingers splay on his stomach, pulling him back against a solid body, stopping him from falling. He leans into the embrace and the hands move over his chest and stomach and thighs. A familiar voice whispers in his ear and they're falling, but they're falling together, arms wrapped tightly and bodies pressed hard one to the other.
James opened his eyes, greeted not by the steel grey winter sky, but the plain white ceiling of his flat. He felt itchy and hot and aroused. He kicked his blanket off his bed and grabbed his wand, lowering the fire.
He’d started having dreams about boys when he was thirteen. During the winter holidays of his third year, he'd singed enough sheets with failed cleaning charms that his bloody dad had figured out what was going on and made him wish for death by explaining to him that this was a normal part of growing up and telling him about socks. What he'd never told anyone to this day was that most of the dreams were about Teddy. Sunday dinners with Teddy had been hell for weeks-every time he saw Teddy's sock-covered ankle he got an erection. He'd put the crush aside for years because Teddy just wasn't interested.
So it had been ages since Teddy had filled his imagination at night with delightful torment. It had been years since he’d touched himself while imagining that it was Teddy's hand on his cock, squeezing his balls, as he kissed him. It was like visiting an old friend, this fantasy. He pictured Teddy's silvery grey eyes, pupils wide and lids heavy, looking into his face and smiling as he leaned to kiss him. His long fingers would grasp his cock and stroke, faster and harder as his own desire built. James would touch him, hands skating over his chest and teasing his nipples. Teddy would gasp into his mouth, and just as James couldn't stand it anymore, Teddy would brush his fingers over his arse, finding his entrance and pushing the tip of one finger inside.
James fell back onto his pillow, panting. When his heart beat slowed, he grabbed his wand and cleaned up. The air had become cold in the low fire and his blanket was still on the floor. He was rather glad, given the temperature, that he'd improved at Charms and had been able to leave his socks on his feet.
~~~~***~~~~
James pointed his wand at the bar and the smudges and fingerprints vanished, leaving the wood shining, worn smooth by decades of customers and thousands of drinks. He loved coming early to get ready for the day. The quiet pub was the most peaceful place he knew. He marked his accomplishments in simple terms-goblets lined up, bottles of Butterbeer set and ready, barrels of lager and flagons of mead tapped. That finished, he'd wait. Not long after the clock on High Street struck eleven, the first person would come in. It was Ned and he'd have a pint and a pumpkin pasty and there it was, the day begun.
"I'm old."
James started, nearly upsetting a four hundred year-old bottle of Firewhisky. "Bloody hell, give a bloke some warning," he told Aberforth, who was leaning heavily against the bar as if to illustrate his words. "Having an off day, are we?"
"Don't be impertinent, boy," said Aberforth. "I'm attempting to be kind and the strain may kill me at my age."
James put down the goblet he was cleaning and gave Aberforth his full attention.
"I'm old and it's high time I retired. I'm told by my Healer that I ought to plant a garden and go for walks and take up bowling. It all sounds like a great deal of physical activity for an old man," he said, and James' heart sank. "Anyway, I'm finished."
"Oh," James said, his voice sounding hollow. "You're selling the place, then."
"Don't be stupid," he said. "Who'd buy it?"
"So, what then?"
"I'm retiring, I'm not selling," he said. Aberforth handed James the thick ledger where he kept track of the accounts. "You've been promoted to manager. Management earns a share of the place every month. By the time I kick the bucket, you'll own it outright, if all the gardening and bowling doesn't kill me within the year."
"Management? There's management?"
"If you don't want it just say so," Aberforth grumbled.
"No, no sir," James said hurriedly. "I do. I'm just surprised."
"Right, well." Aberforth nodded brusquely. "See that you don't muck the place up." He pulled on his cloak and turned to the door.
"You're leaving now?"
"What have we been talking about? Keep up, lad."
Aberforth pulled open the door and James heard him say, "Good day, Ned. Helluva weather we're having."
~~~~***~~~~
James poured a healthy measure of Firewhisky and pointed his wand at the fire, watching with satisfaction as it flared to life and filled his cold flat with warm, golden light. The fire suddenly glowed green and he stepped back, sloshing some of his drink over his hand. Harry stepped into his front room, brushing soot off his robes.
"Hi, Dad," James said, making a mental note to look up the spell that blocked the floo.
"Hello," Harry said, striding into the centre of the room, a determined look on his face.
"Drink?" James lifted his in his dad's direction. This drop-in already had the feel of a lecture about his future. They may as well both be pissed for it.
"I need to talk with you." Harry took the proffered Firewhisky and bit his lip. He only bit his lip when it was going to be a serious talk.
James wished desperately that he had followed up on his impulse to find Edward and celebrate his promotion with a round of no strings but usually quite satisfying sex. Had he done that, not only would he have his cock in a very nice arse right now, he would not have been here when Dad decided to pop in. Or he would have been here and Dad would have walked in on him shagging someone he'd just told him meant nothing to him.
"Not a good time?" Harry asked.
"Just tired," James said. "Long day. And I thought I'd never to anything more exhausting than Quidditch."
"You can do something other than Quidditch, you know," Harry said. He sat heavily on the sofa and gave James his concerned look.
Irritation buzzed in James' head. "If you haven't noticed, I am doing something other that Quidditch. That's what I was bloody talking about."
"I meant something that uses your talents," Harry said evenly, as if James was the one being obtuse.
"I'm good at my job, Dad." James enunciated each word and he could hear how much he sounded like his dad. His mum used to say it was like watching someone have an argument with their doppelganger.
"I've no doubt. I wasn't trying to start an argument. You're intentionally missing my point," Harry said, but his voice trailed off at the end, lost its heat and he sounded very tired.
"No," James said. He nearly let it go, found himself wanting to apologise at the look on his dad's face, but it was enough. It was all the bloody time and he was too fucking old to keep going round and round. He could almost hear Teddy telling him that, if that was the case, he should tell his dad the truth. But Harry had always heard things differently coming from Teddy. "I think I'm getting it loud and clear."
"I just-will you at least think about what you might want to do and maybe your mum and I can help you?" Harry asked. He looked pleadingly at James.
He started to tell his dad about the arrangement with Aberforth. He really did. But the shine had already been knocked off it and he couldn't bear to see the look of disappointment in his father's eyes when he told him that the Hog's Head really wasn't a temporary thing until he followed in some other perfect family member's footsteps.
"I'm sure you didn't come by to discuss my dismal job prospects," James said flatly. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"
"Your prospects aren't dismal. You-"
"Leave it, Dad, okay?"
"Right. I'm sorry. I'll just get going and let you get on with your evening."
"I thought you had something to tell me." James thought it might help his mood a bit if this visit did actually turn out to have a purpose.
"Erm, yeah," Harry said. "Not the time, I think. See you soon."
Harry disappeared back up the floo. James waited a few minutes before sticking his head in the fire himself and shouting, "Edward."
~~~~***~~~~
The Hog's Head had been busy on James' first day as management, and indeed as the sole remaining staff member. The atmosphere was improved slightly by the sudden absence of goats, although none of the customers had remarked on it.
James swept the debris of the day out the back door and into the alley. It was well after midnight and one of those crisp nights, so cold that you could feel the air freezing your pipes as you breathe it in. The stars seemed to twinkle brighter than usual, sharp like bits of ice.
It had been a bad year when he'd started coming here. He knew that Mum and Dad had been frighteningly close to either hauling him home or sending him away somewhere. Just into his first year on the Chudley Cannons and he was sidelined by a shoulder injury-a lunatic who thought James had been put on the team instead of him because of the Potter name. Turns out the Bludger had been cursed. Well, you can't swing a Beater's bat with a cursed wound on your shoulder, so he never saw the last game of the season. He couldn't face moving to either his mum’s or his dad's, so when Katie Bell suggested she could use an on-again-off-again assistant, he had moved to Hogsmeade without a moment's hesitation. His first room was Madame Malkin's spare, and spare it was. Cold as hell, too.
Most nights that winter had found him at the Hog's Head, where he'd gone for the cheap drink and quiet company. He had drunk too much and brooded too much and eventually he'd left the pub so infrequently that Aberforth had handed him a filthy rag and told him if he was polishing the seat with his arse, he may as well polish the bar too.
Harry and Ginny had both worried and cajoled and tried to get James to move home, to take a job at the Ministry, to do anything other than sweep up at the Hog's Head and hope that Katie Bell would have something for him to do. At some point, things shifted and he was there because he wanted to be, because there was an elegance in the rhythm of the day, because beneath his prickly exterior, Aberforth knew just when to leave a body alone. Harry never did seem to cotton on that things had shifted and James was at the Hog's Head because he wanted to be. He couldn't remember exactly when he'd begun to think of it as home.
James stood in the middle of the main room, head swimming with possibility. There was room for a wireless in the corner. A coat of paint wouldn't go amiss, and some better food might bring in more people, at least people who actually ate and might speak to each other. In a few weeks, with a few spells, he'd work on a younger crowd, or less creepy one anyway. He'd have specials on Hogwarts' Hogsmeade weekends and tempt the kids over from the Three Broomsticks.
"You still open?"
James started. He hadn't heard the chime or the door. A grin leapt to his face when he turned. Teddy was at the door, a warm smile brightening his face and sandy hair falling in his eyes.
"What you doing here?" James asked.
"Hoping for a drink," Teddy said. He sat at one of the tall stools at the bar, his long legs dangling and feet brushing the floor.
James went behind the bar and lifted out a bottle of Firewhisky. It was the good stuff, Ogden's, not the swill that Aberforth served to the blokes who'd murdered their taste buds decades ago and couldn't possibly care less as long as it got them pissed.
"Ta," Teddy said, nodding and lifting the tumbler. "Join me?"
James nodded and filled a second glass. "Aberforth is buggering off. Reckons he's too old and ought to take up fishing or some such."
"Oh, Jamie," said Teddy. He lowered his drink from where he'd been about to take a sip and looked at James with genuine concern that made James suck in a breath. "What'll you do? I mean, I know there's lots you could...that job at the Ministry for one...but you've got Quidditch up at the school and everything."
"I'm not leaving," James said, and he smiled as he prepared to say it out loud for the first time. "You're looking at the new publican. I've been promoted and I can work to own the place. I'm going to turn it around, make a go of it."
"Really? Well, so this is a celebration, then." Teddy raised his glass and clinked it against James'. The whisky warmed him from the inside out and he felt his cheeks heat. Then again maybe it was the way Teddy was smiling at him.
"Dad was trying to fix us up again," James said. He blinked. Maybe he'd downed the drink a bit too quickly. He'd not meant to bring that up.
Teddy raised an eyebrow and sipped his drink. "Was he? What did you tell him?"
"I didn't tell him anything," James said. "It's not as if he actually says, 'go and shag Teddy.' Merlin, you'd think he'd be bothered by the idea. He raised us practically as brothers."
"Are you bothered by the idea?"
"I-what?"
Teddy leaned in across the bar, his arms resting on the polished wood. "Are you bothered?"
"Uh, no," James stammered and Teddy smiled like he had the finest chocolate on his tongue.
The air between them heated and the back of James' neck tingled. Teddy seemed to be getting closer without moving and then James realised that he was the one moving, reaching across the bar to brush his thumb over the back of Teddy's hand.
Teddy stood. James could hear the soft sound of his breathing. Teddy hesitated, parting his lips, making James think he was going to kiss him. "See, now I thought you were. Bothered, that is."
"You're not interested," James said. "And my father's an arse."
"The fact that your father thinks it's a good idea doesn't automatically make it a bad one. You've been too busy worrying about what your dad thinks to notice that I am interested."
An indignant denial took shape in his mind, but Teddy was distractingly close. James tilted his head and Teddy kissed him then, his lips brushing James' and then pulling back, hovering for a moment while the room spun around them. James leaned in for a second kiss, another gentle press of lips. Teddy's hand curved around his head, fingers threading through too-long hair, pulling him in and parting his lips with a swipe of his tongue.
"Come around," Teddy murmured against his lips, steering him with his hand still in his hair.
James moved around the bar and Teddy turned, spinning on his high stool until he faced James, his legs splayed apart to keep his balance.
"You cannot tell my dad," James muttered and Teddy chuckled low and ragged.
He stepped into the space between Teddy's parted legs and wrapped his arms around his neck, kissing, lips sliding over Teddy's and tongue curving, exploring his mouth. Teddy sighed, angling his head to deepen the kiss, and James' spine threatened to bow under the force of desire and wanting.
"Teddy," he gasped, breaking the kiss, overwhelmed and breathless.
"C'mere," Teddy whispered, hitching forward, he pulled James to him, clenching James' hips with his long legs. James wanted to crawl into his lap, to get so close to him that no one would be able to tell where he stopped and Teddy began. "Don't you know how I feel about you?" Teddy whispered into his hair.
"Fuck, oh," James gasped against the soft, warm skin of Teddy's neck. "Fuck," he said again when Teddy gripped his arse and pulled their bodies together, pressing his hard cock into James' thigh.
"Feels good, Jamie," Teddy murmured.
Teddy's teeth on his neck, hands smoothing over his arse, and he needed more, needed now. "Like this," he ground out, moving his hips, angling and rocking until his cock aligned with Teddy's.
"Not gonna last, not-it's been a while," Teddy gasped. "If you keep-"
James rocked harder into Teddy, rubbing against him through the fabric, dragging their cocks together. Teddy thrust back, meeting him at every move. Their mouths crashed together, kissing frantically, and Teddy moaned into James' mouth, gripping him and thrusting against him until his hips stuttering and slowed.
"Oh, oh god, sorry." Teddy's head fell to James' shoulder, his breath hot against his neck.
"Please don't be sorry. Not now," James said, his cock hard and aching. He grabbed Teddy's hand and pressed it over his cock. "Do this." Teddy moved his hand, squeezing and rubbing and testing what made James moan, "Do, yes, fuck, that. That and kiss me."
Teddy blinked, drowsy eyes shaded by shaggy hair, his face flushed and open. His lips curved into a small smile as he kissed James, slowly increasing the pressure. James felt his temperature rise, cheeks and chest burning with heat and Teddy worked his tongue into his mouth and traced the outline of his cock again, and again.
James groaned, and he hoped that Teddy would know the sound meant, fuck do that harder, but don't stop kissing me, because he couldn't speak.
"Let me-" Teddy muttered, cut off when James slid his tongue deeper, slipping silkily along Teddy's. He worked his hand into James' robes and pressed it to his stomach. Teddy moved his hand and brushed over the tip of James' cock where it was peeking out of his pants and trousers. "Mmm, Jamie," he groaned, sliding his tongue back along James. Pressing into James' cock with the heel of his hand, he rubbed over the head with his thumb, slick, sharp pleasure that James felt to the ends of his hair.
James pulled back, breaking the kiss and gasping, biting into Teddy's shoulder as he came, muscles trembling and heart leaping in his chest. Teddy's arms came around him, holding him as he caught his breath. His lips pressed gentle kisses to James' hair in a gesture so tender that James lost his breath again. He let himself fold into Teddy and closed his eyes. Teddy kissed his temple, his cheek, his jaw, and down along his throat.
"Your dad will be so pleased with us," Teddy said, leaning to trace his tongue along James' collarbone.
"Shut it. Now is not the time to mention my father," James said. He tilted his head back as Teddy kissed his neck again, a soft laugh warming his skin. Teddy's lips sent shivers through him and he pressed his body against him. "Take me home. I'm not through showing you what you've been missing."
He flicked his wand to lock the bar as they left. He left the stool Teddy had been sitting on pulled out and facing the wrong way. He'd like to see that in the morning.
~~~~***~~~~
The Hog's Head looked different that Monday morning. The light filtering in the dirty windows lit every crack in the plaster and each table leg held on by a charm. Instead of panic over what he'd taken on, James saw possibility. The pub was closed Mondays and James intended to spend every Monday for as long as it took giving the old place a complete make over.
He ran his hands over the stool and shuddered at the memory of last night-Teddy's strong, wiry body moving against his, and then later, Teddy's soft lips slipping over the head of his cock, his hands stroking his thighs.
A soft hoot pulled him from his reverie. His dad's handsome tawny owl was sitting on a table clicking her beak.
"Hey you," he said, stroking the birds soft feathers. "How long have you been here?" He gave her some bits of oatcake and pulled the letter from her ankle.
James,
I really do have something I want to tell you. Sorry if I've been a bit of an idiot about, well, everything. Your mum says to remind you that I mean well and can't help it.
Let me take you to dinner tonight to make it up to you. Let me know if you can get away from work.
Love,
Dad
His dad knew very well that the pub was closed on Monday, and the peace offering that was in that made him smile.
~~~~***~~~~
He used to stop by the Auror's office when he was a kid, with his mum when he was little and just on his own when he was older. After his parents had split, he would take Al and Lily to meet Dad for their evenings out. The big, dark wood desk, the rolls and rolls of parchment everywhere, the smell of his dad's leather chair had been exciting and comforting at the same time. He entered the foyer and remembered it as if he were twelve, the feeling of checking in at the front and announcing that he was Harry Potter's son, here to see his father.
"I'm Harry Potter's son," James said as he presented his wand for identification. "He's expecting me." Not entirely true, but the willowy youth didn't look like someone who would question him.
"Right," the young man said. "Here's your pass. Auror's office on the fifth floor. Elevator's over there."
It did not have quite the effect James had remembered.
Light pooled in the corridors from a few offices of the eager or overworked. Soft sounds of conversations came from some of the doors. He walked the familiar path to the wing where the MLE offices were situated.
He could see from the triangle of light on the carpet that his dad's light was on and door was ajar. Voices wafted into the hallway as he approached.
"I don't have much time."
"Go on. Leave me on my own after such a hellish day."
It was no surprise to hear his dad's voice coming from his own office. The surprise was the low, tender sound of both his dad's and the other voice.
"I'm very sorry," Harry said in a slow, teasing tone. "I'm sure you'll manage."
"That's right," the other voice said. "You have an important errand tonight."
"I'm going to try." The voices were quiet and despite the fact that this seemed like a private conversation and he really wanted to leave, James found himself straining to hear them.
"Harry, you promised."
"Scorpius, I-"
James didn't wait to hear the end of that sentence. He dashed down the corridor and back to the lobby. He jogged all the way to the restaurant, wondering how the hell he was to sit still and watch his dad eat fish and chips with images of what the quiet intimacy of that conversation implied.
The smell of food frying and pints flowing made his mouth water. The dim lights of the simple little restaurant around the corner from the Ministry were as familiar as his dad's office. It was the sort of place where the fish and chips were fabulous, but if you tried to venture into territory of things like salads, you'd be sorry. At lunchtime it was packed with Ministry staff escaping the synthetic environment for something unmistakably real. After five it was less crowded, but still did a good business in people who had no reason to hurry home, or a reason not to.
Harry always picked the table nearest the fireplace. The owner usually saved it if he knew Harry was coming by. Tonight it wasn't empty.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Teddy said. He was sitting in the chair nearest the wall so he could stretch out his longs legs, crossing them at the ankles.
"Worse," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, hello to you, too."
"Sorry," James said, looking at Teddy's full lips and realising just how glad he was he was there. "How would you feel if you'd just overheard your dad having what sounded like a relationship talk with Scorpius Malfoy?" James hissed.
"Extremely confused," Teddy said with a cheeky grin. "And you heard what? No bloody way. Really? I knew it."
"Teddy," James whined. "Don't sound so fucking excited about it."
"I thought you said you hoped he was," Teddy said, and James suppressed the urge to shout at him not to try and inject any reason into this conversation.
"That was before I thought it was a possibility."
"Mental, you are. Speaking of clandestine affairs, Lily knows about us, by the way," Teddy said, casually sipping his wine.
"What?" James yelped. "How?"
"Dunno. She just does. She asked me and I didn't deny it. You know that means Al knows. And probably Hugo and Rose, too."
"Those little shits can't keep their mouths shut and Hugo tells Aunt Hermione everything."
"I know," Teddy said, grinning. "He told me."
"I think I need to just go home and forget this day ever happened," James said, scrubbing over his face with his hands. "I don't think you get it. My dad is probably shagging Scorpius Malfoy. How am I ever going to have sex again in a world where that is true?"
"There's only one thing for it, Jamie," Teddy said, leaning over and waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Get right back on the broom. Sorry," Teddy said, his eyes darting to James' shoulder. "Unfortunate analogy."
James waved the words away. He had bigger problems. "How can you think about sex at a time like this?"
"How can you not? I've been thinking about you non-stop, being honest."
"Oh," James said, letting the words sink in. "Right, I need to have the last twenty minutes wiped from my brain first." He knew experience that Teddy wouldn't Obliviate him, so he didn't even ask. "I'm going to the loo."
"Me too. Uh, wash my hands."
"It's not stalls, you know," James whispered as Teddy started to follow him in.
"Go on and don't call attention," Teddy muttered, shoving James through the door and against the wall. "Let's see if I can't wipe the last twenty minutes from your brain."
"It'll have to be-"
James was silenced by Teddy's lips, soft and firm and pulling James' bottom lip between them. He leaned in, pushing James into the wall, sliding his hands down his sides. James' cock filled, Teddy so close and kissing him like that, and he still had to catch up that he and Teddy did this now, and his fucking dad would be here in five minutes, fresh from whatever it was with Scorpius.
Teddy slid his tongue out of James' mouth, which was a shame really. "You're thinking about it, aren't you? Maybe I need to fuck you into the wall to make you forget it."
"Maybe my dad fucked Scorpius Malfoy into a wall."
Teddy rolled his eyes and backed up half a step. "Why are you so worried? I've been around them at work, and your dad seems happy."
"You knew?" James asked, and backed up another half a step. His dad would be here in four minutes. And he'd have to sit across from him and look at him and pretend he didn't know and he'd have to look at Teddy and pretend he wasn't thinking about fucking him. He'd end up with indigestion.
"I told you, I suspected. Anyway, I think everyone but you and Al have some idea, really."
James had no clue what to say to that and his cock was hard and his dad would be here in three and a half minutes.
"I need to...my dad-"
Teddy slowly sank to his knees and sitting on his heels, grinned at James through his shaggy fringe.
"You need to calm down," Teddy said, soothing and sweet. He flung James' robes open with a flick of his wand.
"That's not calming me down." James gasped as Teddy reached for his belt buckle, threading the leather through the catch with nimble fingers.
"Give me five minutes," Teddy whispered, leaning in to kiss the sensitive skin just below James' navel.
"Oh god, ah, my dad'll be here in two." James bit his bottom lip, soft and full from Teddy's kisses, and watched Teddy press his lips to every bit of skin he uncovered as he undid James' trousers and slipped down his pants.
"I'll have to be quick, then, won't I?"
He angled his head and sucked gently right above the base of James' cock.
"Teddy," James groaned. Someone turned the door handle. James jumped, staring as the person jiggled it a couple of times.
Teddy released the tender flesh from his mouth and licked at the spot, sliding his tongue to the underside of James' cock and up the length. At the tip, he curled his tongue around the head, just like he curled it around James' tongue when they kissed. He followed that same path again and again, making James' cock slick and wet.
"Teddy, unh, please," he moaned, rocking his hips, begging Teddy to take him in to his mouth.
"Mmm," Teddy hummed and swirled his tongue around the head of James' cock again, parting his lips a little more with each turn, letting James' cock slip inside his beautiful mouth.
James combed his fingers through Teddy's hair, soft strands slipping between his fingers. Teddy moved back and forth and James watched his cock slide in and out of his mouth. He couldn't remember being the focus of such intense attention, attention he wanted, and he closed his eyes and sighed at just how long he'd wanted Teddy like this. Teddy grasped the base of James cock with his hand and met his mouth on each stroke. He tilted his head to look up at James, raw desire in his grey eyes, and sucked hard on the head while that hand worked the length. James panted. He tried to thrust, to get deeper into Teddy's mouth, but Teddy's hand on his stomach and hand on his cock had complete control. He was at Teddy's mercy. He opened his mouth to beg and groaned as he came hard and fast and without warning. Teddy slid his mouth further down James' cock, his tongue soothing over it as James shuddered and came slowly down. He braced his hand on the sink to stop from slithering down the wall in a heap.
"There. You haven't thought about your dad for a full six minutes," Teddy said, sitting back and looking extremely pleased with himself.
"Come here," James said, pulling Teddy to his feet. He kissed him, curling his tongue around Teddy's and pulling his own taste from Teddy's mouth. He trailed his hand down Teddy's body to trace the bulge in the front of his trousers. Teddy laughed, warm and breathy, and pulled back from the kiss.
"I can wait. I want you later," Teddy murmured, his lips catching James' ear lobe. "You're going to bend me over the bar you're now in charge of. Think about that while you and your dad catch up."
James splashed water on his face. It didn't help. He was still flushed and in disarray, and anticipation made his cock twitch when he looked at Teddy and pictured his long body folded over the shining, dark wood of the bar.
Teddy opened the door and peered out. Apparently deciding the coast was clear, he dashed out into restaurant and James followed. His dad was already at the table-probably had been for at least eight minutes.
"Oh, hello there, Teddy. What a coincidence, you're here as well," Harry said, distractedly putting down the menu. James didn't even know the place had menus.
"Not much of one. I told you I was coming here after work," Teddy said with a smirk.
"Right, so you did," Harry said. He smiled fondly at Teddy and shook his head.
"Tiring day, Dad?" James asked. He almost felt sorry for him. He looked so nervous and James wondered what he thought James was going to do when he found out.
"Blimey, yes," Harry said. He sighed and put the menu down. "How did you know?"
"Lucky guess."
Harry gestured to the chairs and James pulled one out and sat down next to his dad. "Join us, Teddy?"
"Well, I'm off actually," Teddy said, giving James a crooked smile. "Seems you two have a lot to talk about and I've some things to do. See you tomorrow, Harry. Cheers, James. Suppose I'll see you at the Hog's Head."
His gaze lingered on James and James felt the flush in his cheeks deepen as he watched him walk away. And now he was hard to boot, and here he sat with his dad-his dad who might very well be about to tell him that Scorpius Malfoy was his new step-dad. Now that his cock was no longer in Teddy's mouth, the sounds of those intimate voices had rushed back into his mind, and he had no idea what he would actually say if his dad did tell him. Not to mention he had to try to get through a conversation about serious life issues with his stubborn father and the last thing he wanted to do tonight was talk about either the Hog's Head or his love life in this state of randy anticipation.
"I know you wanted to tell me something, but you're tired and I'm tired and it's been a while since we just sat together. Let's just relax and eat," James said hopefully.
A look of near-joy spread across Harry's face and he waved the waiter over to order two portions of fish and chips and two pints.
Part Two
Title: Pursuit of Imperfection (Part 1 of 2)
Pairing(s): Teddy/James II, hints at Harry/Scorpius
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: None that are not implied by the rating, except perhaps rimming and some light bondage.
Summary: James' dad is always right. At least he thinks he is, and there is no way James is going to let him be right about how perfect Teddy is.
Word Count: 14,000
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author’s/Artist's notes: gryffindor_j, thank you for the wonderful prompts-you left such a delightful, and thorough, list of kinks and likes that I couldn't help but try and include most of them. I hope you enjoy! Everlasting thanks to my fabulous betas.
James banked left. Wet snow hit his face like a stinging hex. He blinked and the flakes melted on his eyelids, dripping in to his eyes. He swung his bat, hard. It connected with that beautiful, satisfying thunk and zipped past the Harpies' Seeker, throwing her off course. The wind blew, harsh and cold, freezing his cheeks and ears. Both Bludgers were at the other end of the pitch, volleying between his teammate and the Harpies' Beaters. He leaned down over his broom and sped down the pitch. A streak of red caught his peripheral vision, but the Bludgers were still twenty feet away. He wiped icy water off his face and light burst behind his eyes. Lightning pain seared through his shoulder and he heard his body hit the frozen ground.
James awoke on the floor of his flat above the Hog's Head. He rubbed his shoulder and, standing, stumbled to the loo for a piss. He looked in the mirror. His black hair stuck up every which way and his bleary hazel eyes stared back at him. He really was here in his room and the accident was a long time ago, he thought, sighing with relief and splashing warm water on his face.
~~~~***~~~~
Southern England was in the grip of a winter storm the likes of which it hadn't seen for fifty years. That suited James just fine. It meant that his shift at the Hog's Head would likely pass without any duels and with a minimum of dodgy under the table deals he had to pretend not to see.
A soft chime announced that someone had a hand on the door. He'd cast the charm to add a warning bell less than two weeks into his employ at the pub, having learnt that it was best not to be taken unawares.
"'Lo, James." Teddy flashed him a bright grin and sauntered over to the bar, his hand in the pockets of a long, black overcoat. His light brown hair was completely white at the top with snow that was now melting in the slightly warmer air inside, making his fringe curl in damp tendrils.
"Why the get-up?" James asked, and then cleared his throat as Teddy shed his coat.
The neat, charcoal grey, Muggle suit jacket fit perfectly across Teddy's broad shoulders. The shirt, lighter grey, was the exact same colour as his eyes.
"Assignment," Teddy said, unbuttoning the suit jacket to sit down. He reached up to loosen his tie and James turned away quickly to pour him a drink.
"Near by?"
"Not really."
"To what do I owe the pleasure, then?"
"Thought I'd say hello. It's been a bit," said Teddy. "Since when do I need a reason to check up on my god brother? Anyway, I thought I'd tell you there are a couple of entry level positions coming up in the MLE in the next month or so. Not anything exciting, but a chance to get in."
"Dad sent you," James said, the pleasant tingly feeling in his stomach fading to a vague ache of disappointment.
The way Teddy flushed told James all he needed to know.
"Well he did mention I should tell you, but he doesn't know I'm here tonight," Teddy said, recovering quickly. "I thought we could have a drink and a visit."
Teddy leaned against the bar with a casual grace and James found it very easy to forget that Teddy wasn't really here on his own, that this was all part of his dad's campaign to get him a real job. His dad also seemed to think that if he got Teddy and James together enough they'd realise they wanted no one but each other. But they'd been around each other all their lives. Teddy wasn't interested.
~~~~***~~~~
The Leaky Cauldron was nearly deserted. With the kids back to school and people recovering from the deep holes left in their Gringott's vaults by the holidays, Diagon Alley was not the bustling place it had been a week ago.
James drummed his fingers on the table and smiled absently at his dad. When he and Ginny had split and Harry moved out, Harry had made a point of spending time individually with each of his children. It was usually a meal or an outing, and now that they were older, a drink. Harry pushed back his chair and made to stand as Ginny made her way to the table. That was another change. After a couple of years, it had been Mum and Dad both at the little get-togethers. James knew that Albus had held hope for years that this meant they were going to get back together. James just saw it as one more way his family was irritatingly, unforgivably perfect.
He loved his parents, he did, but since the accident, all they had done was nag him about what he was going to do to replace Quidditch, and everyone in the bloody family seemed to know what was best for James except James. So he started telling them less, started keeping secrets.
He'd never had anything to conceal before. Everything has always been fairly obvious. He was in Gryffindor. He had the dark hair and hazel eyes of his grandfather and everyone was always telling him he was a perfect cross between both his namesakes. He played Quidditch and he got good marks in school, but not sickeningly-Hugo-good. Even his coming out had been fairly uneventful. He'd told his parents when he was fourteen and they'd both behaved as if it were obvious. He would have a spectacular career, meet another Quidditch player and settle down to a perfect, obvious life.
After the accident, nothing was obvious, and for the first time his parents started giving him constant advice and none of it fit.
"Sit down, Harry," Ginny said, with a fond smile on her face. "I've only just gone to the loo."
"How's work?" Harry asked, turning on James. There was always a slight, pained edge to the question, like he'd just stubbed his toe.
"It's the same as it was last week," James said. "Madame Bell said she'd need me to help with some training and maybe to referee, so there should be some Quidditch this year."
"How is Katie? We should go and see a match and catch up. Don't you think Harry?" Ginny asked. James felt a wave a gratitude for her intervention.
"Yeah, probably. We could take Lily along, see her old coach," Harry said. James thought that the likelihood his sister would want to go to a Hogwarts match with their parents was about the same as his wanting to continue this particular conversation. "So, what happened to your lad? You could have asked him along, you know."
It was so predictable it was almost painful.
"My lad?" James asked. He looked at his mum for help, and Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Yes, Edmund, right?" Harry asked. "The bloke you were with when I saw you last week."
"Edward," James said. Edward was a regular at the Hog's Head. Enough said about him. Dad had unfortunately popped in to say "hello" just as James and Edward had been making their way to the back room for a quick one. "And he is not my lad. He is not my anything."
"Certainly looked like it," Harry said, coughing.
"Lay off it, Harry," Ginny said.
"You deserve better, you know," Harry said, ignoring Ginny altogether. "You're going through men like water, and none of them good enough for you. It just seems really lonely and I know it is not healthy."
"Oh, for fuck's sake," James groaned.
"If you keep it up, he won't come to dinner with us anymore," Ginny said and if he weren't so irritated, the familiar scolding tone would have made him smile. "Not that I'd blame him."
"I don't think Teddy's seeing anyone," said Harry cheerily, as if this were changing the subject.
"Of course he's not," James said. "Teddy doesn't see people, not since the twin disasters of Victoire and Viktor."
"Not that he tells us about, anyway," Harry said.
"He's not interested." James had fancied Teddy since he was a kid, and when his dad began not-so-subtly playing match maker with him and Teddy it stung like nettles every time.
"Would you be if he was?"
"Harry," Ginny muttered under her breath and he realised with horror that they had talked about this.
"You want to know what's really not healthy?" James shook his head in disbelief. "You being so eager to discuss my sex life. That is not normal. Normal parents do not want to know their kids have sex, much less try and help them pull. Couldn't you be just a little uncomfortable about it?"
"Lower your voice," Ginny said, very quietly.
"All right, all right," Harry said. "Dropping it. Here, did you know that Teddy just moved in above George's shop? They gave it to him rent free. Came up with the idea after that bloke tried to break in to their lab. They reckon that no one will try and break in with an Auror living in the flat. We should stop by and say hello after."
James gripped his pint and knocked half of it back in one swallow.
~~~~***~~~~
James kicked his feet onto Teddy's coffee table. Teddy had managed to turn the crummy little flat into a cosy, pleasant space. The furniture all matched, except for the heavy, ornate armchair that that Teddy had inherited from his grandmother. The piece added elegance to the room. Books and family photos were scattered artfully about the room, making it look homey. Every time he visited, he left with plans to spruce up the flat above the Hog's Head that never seemed to materialize into action.
Teddy came back from the kitchen, a plate of sandwiches floating on ahead of him and a goblet in each hand. He always shed his work robes and kicked off his shoes the minute got home from work, James had learned from as much careful observation as he could manage. He wore black wool trousers and a neatly pressed, light blue shirt, padding across the room in his stocking feet. He was nearly as tall as James and as lanky at 30 as he had been at 19, when James had first noticed the way he kicked his long legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles when he sat.
"I think your dad is shagging Scorpius Malfoy. And get your feet off my table." He swatted at James' boots, knocking them to the floor before he flicked his wand, lowering the sandwiches onto the table.
"You're mental," James said, his feet banging on the wood floor as they were propelled off the table. "There is absolutely no way."
He took a goblet from Teddy and inhaled the scent of a good red wine. He didn't know anything about wine, but for some reason Teddy did and James had learned to tell the difference between what Aberforth served as the House Wine and what Teddy usually had just knocking about the house.
"Why not?" Teddy asked. Finally sitting next to James, he leaned forward to grab a sandwich.
"Scorpius always went for fit, hot, athletic types," said James, counting in his head the people he'd seen Scorpius going about with.
"Have you met your dad?" Teddy turned to look at James, his head tilted so that wavy wisps of hair fell across his cheek.
"Oh, ew."
"In any case, I went into work late last night and Scorpius was coming out of Harry's office, looking a smidgeon dishevelled."
"I hope he is."
"What?" Teddy asked. He looked a bit discomfitted that his announcement had caused this reaction. "Why on earth?"
"After all the talks about finding someone appropriate for a man my age, I would love to sit across the table from him while he tells me that."
"You are mental."
"No, everyone else in the family is, except maybe you and occasionally Lily," James said, Teddy's fond smile at this warming him as much as the rich, oaky wine. "Anyway, tell me what it's like to be Uncle George's hired muscle."
~~~~***~~~~
Cold air rushes by him, whistling in his ears and making his eyes water. His heart pounds, that indescribable freedom of being so far above the ground, fierce and determined to protect his team. He banks left and nothing hurts, no twinge in his shoulder, but he knows he could fall at any moment, crash into the darkness to the earth so far below he cannot see where it is. His eyes dart left and right, scanning constantly for that streak of red.
A rush of vertigo threatens to send him tumbling off his broom, but arms circle around his waist. Fingers splay on his stomach, pulling him back against a solid body, stopping him from falling. He leans into the embrace and the hands move over his chest and stomach and thighs. A familiar voice whispers in his ear and they're falling, but they're falling together, arms wrapped tightly and bodies pressed hard one to the other.
James opened his eyes, greeted not by the steel grey winter sky, but the plain white ceiling of his flat. He felt itchy and hot and aroused. He kicked his blanket off his bed and grabbed his wand, lowering the fire.
He’d started having dreams about boys when he was thirteen. During the winter holidays of his third year, he'd singed enough sheets with failed cleaning charms that his bloody dad had figured out what was going on and made him wish for death by explaining to him that this was a normal part of growing up and telling him about socks. What he'd never told anyone to this day was that most of the dreams were about Teddy. Sunday dinners with Teddy had been hell for weeks-every time he saw Teddy's sock-covered ankle he got an erection. He'd put the crush aside for years because Teddy just wasn't interested.
So it had been ages since Teddy had filled his imagination at night with delightful torment. It had been years since he’d touched himself while imagining that it was Teddy's hand on his cock, squeezing his balls, as he kissed him. It was like visiting an old friend, this fantasy. He pictured Teddy's silvery grey eyes, pupils wide and lids heavy, looking into his face and smiling as he leaned to kiss him. His long fingers would grasp his cock and stroke, faster and harder as his own desire built. James would touch him, hands skating over his chest and teasing his nipples. Teddy would gasp into his mouth, and just as James couldn't stand it anymore, Teddy would brush his fingers over his arse, finding his entrance and pushing the tip of one finger inside.
James fell back onto his pillow, panting. When his heart beat slowed, he grabbed his wand and cleaned up. The air had become cold in the low fire and his blanket was still on the floor. He was rather glad, given the temperature, that he'd improved at Charms and had been able to leave his socks on his feet.
~~~~***~~~~
James pointed his wand at the bar and the smudges and fingerprints vanished, leaving the wood shining, worn smooth by decades of customers and thousands of drinks. He loved coming early to get ready for the day. The quiet pub was the most peaceful place he knew. He marked his accomplishments in simple terms-goblets lined up, bottles of Butterbeer set and ready, barrels of lager and flagons of mead tapped. That finished, he'd wait. Not long after the clock on High Street struck eleven, the first person would come in. It was Ned and he'd have a pint and a pumpkin pasty and there it was, the day begun.
"I'm old."
James started, nearly upsetting a four hundred year-old bottle of Firewhisky. "Bloody hell, give a bloke some warning," he told Aberforth, who was leaning heavily against the bar as if to illustrate his words. "Having an off day, are we?"
"Don't be impertinent, boy," said Aberforth. "I'm attempting to be kind and the strain may kill me at my age."
James put down the goblet he was cleaning and gave Aberforth his full attention.
"I'm old and it's high time I retired. I'm told by my Healer that I ought to plant a garden and go for walks and take up bowling. It all sounds like a great deal of physical activity for an old man," he said, and James' heart sank. "Anyway, I'm finished."
"Oh," James said, his voice sounding hollow. "You're selling the place, then."
"Don't be stupid," he said. "Who'd buy it?"
"So, what then?"
"I'm retiring, I'm not selling," he said. Aberforth handed James the thick ledger where he kept track of the accounts. "You've been promoted to manager. Management earns a share of the place every month. By the time I kick the bucket, you'll own it outright, if all the gardening and bowling doesn't kill me within the year."
"Management? There's management?"
"If you don't want it just say so," Aberforth grumbled.
"No, no sir," James said hurriedly. "I do. I'm just surprised."
"Right, well." Aberforth nodded brusquely. "See that you don't muck the place up." He pulled on his cloak and turned to the door.
"You're leaving now?"
"What have we been talking about? Keep up, lad."
Aberforth pulled open the door and James heard him say, "Good day, Ned. Helluva weather we're having."
~~~~***~~~~
James poured a healthy measure of Firewhisky and pointed his wand at the fire, watching with satisfaction as it flared to life and filled his cold flat with warm, golden light. The fire suddenly glowed green and he stepped back, sloshing some of his drink over his hand. Harry stepped into his front room, brushing soot off his robes.
"Hi, Dad," James said, making a mental note to look up the spell that blocked the floo.
"Hello," Harry said, striding into the centre of the room, a determined look on his face.
"Drink?" James lifted his in his dad's direction. This drop-in already had the feel of a lecture about his future. They may as well both be pissed for it.
"I need to talk with you." Harry took the proffered Firewhisky and bit his lip. He only bit his lip when it was going to be a serious talk.
James wished desperately that he had followed up on his impulse to find Edward and celebrate his promotion with a round of no strings but usually quite satisfying sex. Had he done that, not only would he have his cock in a very nice arse right now, he would not have been here when Dad decided to pop in. Or he would have been here and Dad would have walked in on him shagging someone he'd just told him meant nothing to him.
"Not a good time?" Harry asked.
"Just tired," James said. "Long day. And I thought I'd never to anything more exhausting than Quidditch."
"You can do something other than Quidditch, you know," Harry said. He sat heavily on the sofa and gave James his concerned look.
Irritation buzzed in James' head. "If you haven't noticed, I am doing something other that Quidditch. That's what I was bloody talking about."
"I meant something that uses your talents," Harry said evenly, as if James was the one being obtuse.
"I'm good at my job, Dad." James enunciated each word and he could hear how much he sounded like his dad. His mum used to say it was like watching someone have an argument with their doppelganger.
"I've no doubt. I wasn't trying to start an argument. You're intentionally missing my point," Harry said, but his voice trailed off at the end, lost its heat and he sounded very tired.
"No," James said. He nearly let it go, found himself wanting to apologise at the look on his dad's face, but it was enough. It was all the bloody time and he was too fucking old to keep going round and round. He could almost hear Teddy telling him that, if that was the case, he should tell his dad the truth. But Harry had always heard things differently coming from Teddy. "I think I'm getting it loud and clear."
"I just-will you at least think about what you might want to do and maybe your mum and I can help you?" Harry asked. He looked pleadingly at James.
He started to tell his dad about the arrangement with Aberforth. He really did. But the shine had already been knocked off it and he couldn't bear to see the look of disappointment in his father's eyes when he told him that the Hog's Head really wasn't a temporary thing until he followed in some other perfect family member's footsteps.
"I'm sure you didn't come by to discuss my dismal job prospects," James said flatly. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"
"Your prospects aren't dismal. You-"
"Leave it, Dad, okay?"
"Right. I'm sorry. I'll just get going and let you get on with your evening."
"I thought you had something to tell me." James thought it might help his mood a bit if this visit did actually turn out to have a purpose.
"Erm, yeah," Harry said. "Not the time, I think. See you soon."
Harry disappeared back up the floo. James waited a few minutes before sticking his head in the fire himself and shouting, "Edward."
~~~~***~~~~
The Hog's Head had been busy on James' first day as management, and indeed as the sole remaining staff member. The atmosphere was improved slightly by the sudden absence of goats, although none of the customers had remarked on it.
James swept the debris of the day out the back door and into the alley. It was well after midnight and one of those crisp nights, so cold that you could feel the air freezing your pipes as you breathe it in. The stars seemed to twinkle brighter than usual, sharp like bits of ice.
It had been a bad year when he'd started coming here. He knew that Mum and Dad had been frighteningly close to either hauling him home or sending him away somewhere. Just into his first year on the Chudley Cannons and he was sidelined by a shoulder injury-a lunatic who thought James had been put on the team instead of him because of the Potter name. Turns out the Bludger had been cursed. Well, you can't swing a Beater's bat with a cursed wound on your shoulder, so he never saw the last game of the season. He couldn't face moving to either his mum’s or his dad's, so when Katie Bell suggested she could use an on-again-off-again assistant, he had moved to Hogsmeade without a moment's hesitation. His first room was Madame Malkin's spare, and spare it was. Cold as hell, too.
Most nights that winter had found him at the Hog's Head, where he'd gone for the cheap drink and quiet company. He had drunk too much and brooded too much and eventually he'd left the pub so infrequently that Aberforth had handed him a filthy rag and told him if he was polishing the seat with his arse, he may as well polish the bar too.
Harry and Ginny had both worried and cajoled and tried to get James to move home, to take a job at the Ministry, to do anything other than sweep up at the Hog's Head and hope that Katie Bell would have something for him to do. At some point, things shifted and he was there because he wanted to be, because there was an elegance in the rhythm of the day, because beneath his prickly exterior, Aberforth knew just when to leave a body alone. Harry never did seem to cotton on that things had shifted and James was at the Hog's Head because he wanted to be. He couldn't remember exactly when he'd begun to think of it as home.
James stood in the middle of the main room, head swimming with possibility. There was room for a wireless in the corner. A coat of paint wouldn't go amiss, and some better food might bring in more people, at least people who actually ate and might speak to each other. In a few weeks, with a few spells, he'd work on a younger crowd, or less creepy one anyway. He'd have specials on Hogwarts' Hogsmeade weekends and tempt the kids over from the Three Broomsticks.
"You still open?"
James started. He hadn't heard the chime or the door. A grin leapt to his face when he turned. Teddy was at the door, a warm smile brightening his face and sandy hair falling in his eyes.
"What you doing here?" James asked.
"Hoping for a drink," Teddy said. He sat at one of the tall stools at the bar, his long legs dangling and feet brushing the floor.
James went behind the bar and lifted out a bottle of Firewhisky. It was the good stuff, Ogden's, not the swill that Aberforth served to the blokes who'd murdered their taste buds decades ago and couldn't possibly care less as long as it got them pissed.
"Ta," Teddy said, nodding and lifting the tumbler. "Join me?"
James nodded and filled a second glass. "Aberforth is buggering off. Reckons he's too old and ought to take up fishing or some such."
"Oh, Jamie," said Teddy. He lowered his drink from where he'd been about to take a sip and looked at James with genuine concern that made James suck in a breath. "What'll you do? I mean, I know there's lots you could...that job at the Ministry for one...but you've got Quidditch up at the school and everything."
"I'm not leaving," James said, and he smiled as he prepared to say it out loud for the first time. "You're looking at the new publican. I've been promoted and I can work to own the place. I'm going to turn it around, make a go of it."
"Really? Well, so this is a celebration, then." Teddy raised his glass and clinked it against James'. The whisky warmed him from the inside out and he felt his cheeks heat. Then again maybe it was the way Teddy was smiling at him.
"Dad was trying to fix us up again," James said. He blinked. Maybe he'd downed the drink a bit too quickly. He'd not meant to bring that up.
Teddy raised an eyebrow and sipped his drink. "Was he? What did you tell him?"
"I didn't tell him anything," James said. "It's not as if he actually says, 'go and shag Teddy.' Merlin, you'd think he'd be bothered by the idea. He raised us practically as brothers."
"Are you bothered by the idea?"
"I-what?"
Teddy leaned in across the bar, his arms resting on the polished wood. "Are you bothered?"
"Uh, no," James stammered and Teddy smiled like he had the finest chocolate on his tongue.
The air between them heated and the back of James' neck tingled. Teddy seemed to be getting closer without moving and then James realised that he was the one moving, reaching across the bar to brush his thumb over the back of Teddy's hand.
Teddy stood. James could hear the soft sound of his breathing. Teddy hesitated, parting his lips, making James think he was going to kiss him. "See, now I thought you were. Bothered, that is."
"You're not interested," James said. "And my father's an arse."
"The fact that your father thinks it's a good idea doesn't automatically make it a bad one. You've been too busy worrying about what your dad thinks to notice that I am interested."
An indignant denial took shape in his mind, but Teddy was distractingly close. James tilted his head and Teddy kissed him then, his lips brushing James' and then pulling back, hovering for a moment while the room spun around them. James leaned in for a second kiss, another gentle press of lips. Teddy's hand curved around his head, fingers threading through too-long hair, pulling him in and parting his lips with a swipe of his tongue.
"Come around," Teddy murmured against his lips, steering him with his hand still in his hair.
James moved around the bar and Teddy turned, spinning on his high stool until he faced James, his legs splayed apart to keep his balance.
"You cannot tell my dad," James muttered and Teddy chuckled low and ragged.
He stepped into the space between Teddy's parted legs and wrapped his arms around his neck, kissing, lips sliding over Teddy's and tongue curving, exploring his mouth. Teddy sighed, angling his head to deepen the kiss, and James' spine threatened to bow under the force of desire and wanting.
"Teddy," he gasped, breaking the kiss, overwhelmed and breathless.
"C'mere," Teddy whispered, hitching forward, he pulled James to him, clenching James' hips with his long legs. James wanted to crawl into his lap, to get so close to him that no one would be able to tell where he stopped and Teddy began. "Don't you know how I feel about you?" Teddy whispered into his hair.
"Fuck, oh," James gasped against the soft, warm skin of Teddy's neck. "Fuck," he said again when Teddy gripped his arse and pulled their bodies together, pressing his hard cock into James' thigh.
"Feels good, Jamie," Teddy murmured.
Teddy's teeth on his neck, hands smoothing over his arse, and he needed more, needed now. "Like this," he ground out, moving his hips, angling and rocking until his cock aligned with Teddy's.
"Not gonna last, not-it's been a while," Teddy gasped. "If you keep-"
James rocked harder into Teddy, rubbing against him through the fabric, dragging their cocks together. Teddy thrust back, meeting him at every move. Their mouths crashed together, kissing frantically, and Teddy moaned into James' mouth, gripping him and thrusting against him until his hips stuttering and slowed.
"Oh, oh god, sorry." Teddy's head fell to James' shoulder, his breath hot against his neck.
"Please don't be sorry. Not now," James said, his cock hard and aching. He grabbed Teddy's hand and pressed it over his cock. "Do this." Teddy moved his hand, squeezing and rubbing and testing what made James moan, "Do, yes, fuck, that. That and kiss me."
Teddy blinked, drowsy eyes shaded by shaggy hair, his face flushed and open. His lips curved into a small smile as he kissed James, slowly increasing the pressure. James felt his temperature rise, cheeks and chest burning with heat and Teddy worked his tongue into his mouth and traced the outline of his cock again, and again.
James groaned, and he hoped that Teddy would know the sound meant, fuck do that harder, but don't stop kissing me, because he couldn't speak.
"Let me-" Teddy muttered, cut off when James slid his tongue deeper, slipping silkily along Teddy's. He worked his hand into James' robes and pressed it to his stomach. Teddy moved his hand and brushed over the tip of James' cock where it was peeking out of his pants and trousers. "Mmm, Jamie," he groaned, sliding his tongue back along James. Pressing into James' cock with the heel of his hand, he rubbed over the head with his thumb, slick, sharp pleasure that James felt to the ends of his hair.
James pulled back, breaking the kiss and gasping, biting into Teddy's shoulder as he came, muscles trembling and heart leaping in his chest. Teddy's arms came around him, holding him as he caught his breath. His lips pressed gentle kisses to James' hair in a gesture so tender that James lost his breath again. He let himself fold into Teddy and closed his eyes. Teddy kissed his temple, his cheek, his jaw, and down along his throat.
"Your dad will be so pleased with us," Teddy said, leaning to trace his tongue along James' collarbone.
"Shut it. Now is not the time to mention my father," James said. He tilted his head back as Teddy kissed his neck again, a soft laugh warming his skin. Teddy's lips sent shivers through him and he pressed his body against him. "Take me home. I'm not through showing you what you've been missing."
He flicked his wand to lock the bar as they left. He left the stool Teddy had been sitting on pulled out and facing the wrong way. He'd like to see that in the morning.
~~~~***~~~~
The Hog's Head looked different that Monday morning. The light filtering in the dirty windows lit every crack in the plaster and each table leg held on by a charm. Instead of panic over what he'd taken on, James saw possibility. The pub was closed Mondays and James intended to spend every Monday for as long as it took giving the old place a complete make over.
He ran his hands over the stool and shuddered at the memory of last night-Teddy's strong, wiry body moving against his, and then later, Teddy's soft lips slipping over the head of his cock, his hands stroking his thighs.
A soft hoot pulled him from his reverie. His dad's handsome tawny owl was sitting on a table clicking her beak.
"Hey you," he said, stroking the birds soft feathers. "How long have you been here?" He gave her some bits of oatcake and pulled the letter from her ankle.
James,
I really do have something I want to tell you. Sorry if I've been a bit of an idiot about, well, everything. Your mum says to remind you that I mean well and can't help it.
Let me take you to dinner tonight to make it up to you. Let me know if you can get away from work.
Love,
Dad
His dad knew very well that the pub was closed on Monday, and the peace offering that was in that made him smile.
~~~~***~~~~
He used to stop by the Auror's office when he was a kid, with his mum when he was little and just on his own when he was older. After his parents had split, he would take Al and Lily to meet Dad for their evenings out. The big, dark wood desk, the rolls and rolls of parchment everywhere, the smell of his dad's leather chair had been exciting and comforting at the same time. He entered the foyer and remembered it as if he were twelve, the feeling of checking in at the front and announcing that he was Harry Potter's son, here to see his father.
"I'm Harry Potter's son," James said as he presented his wand for identification. "He's expecting me." Not entirely true, but the willowy youth didn't look like someone who would question him.
"Right," the young man said. "Here's your pass. Auror's office on the fifth floor. Elevator's over there."
It did not have quite the effect James had remembered.
Light pooled in the corridors from a few offices of the eager or overworked. Soft sounds of conversations came from some of the doors. He walked the familiar path to the wing where the MLE offices were situated.
He could see from the triangle of light on the carpet that his dad's light was on and door was ajar. Voices wafted into the hallway as he approached.
"I don't have much time."
"Go on. Leave me on my own after such a hellish day."
It was no surprise to hear his dad's voice coming from his own office. The surprise was the low, tender sound of both his dad's and the other voice.
"I'm very sorry," Harry said in a slow, teasing tone. "I'm sure you'll manage."
"That's right," the other voice said. "You have an important errand tonight."
"I'm going to try." The voices were quiet and despite the fact that this seemed like a private conversation and he really wanted to leave, James found himself straining to hear them.
"Harry, you promised."
"Scorpius, I-"
James didn't wait to hear the end of that sentence. He dashed down the corridor and back to the lobby. He jogged all the way to the restaurant, wondering how the hell he was to sit still and watch his dad eat fish and chips with images of what the quiet intimacy of that conversation implied.
The smell of food frying and pints flowing made his mouth water. The dim lights of the simple little restaurant around the corner from the Ministry were as familiar as his dad's office. It was the sort of place where the fish and chips were fabulous, but if you tried to venture into territory of things like salads, you'd be sorry. At lunchtime it was packed with Ministry staff escaping the synthetic environment for something unmistakably real. After five it was less crowded, but still did a good business in people who had no reason to hurry home, or a reason not to.
Harry always picked the table nearest the fireplace. The owner usually saved it if he knew Harry was coming by. Tonight it wasn't empty.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Teddy said. He was sitting in the chair nearest the wall so he could stretch out his longs legs, crossing them at the ankles.
"Worse," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, hello to you, too."
"Sorry," James said, looking at Teddy's full lips and realising just how glad he was he was there. "How would you feel if you'd just overheard your dad having what sounded like a relationship talk with Scorpius Malfoy?" James hissed.
"Extremely confused," Teddy said with a cheeky grin. "And you heard what? No bloody way. Really? I knew it."
"Teddy," James whined. "Don't sound so fucking excited about it."
"I thought you said you hoped he was," Teddy said, and James suppressed the urge to shout at him not to try and inject any reason into this conversation.
"That was before I thought it was a possibility."
"Mental, you are. Speaking of clandestine affairs, Lily knows about us, by the way," Teddy said, casually sipping his wine.
"What?" James yelped. "How?"
"Dunno. She just does. She asked me and I didn't deny it. You know that means Al knows. And probably Hugo and Rose, too."
"Those little shits can't keep their mouths shut and Hugo tells Aunt Hermione everything."
"I know," Teddy said, grinning. "He told me."
"I think I need to just go home and forget this day ever happened," James said, scrubbing over his face with his hands. "I don't think you get it. My dad is probably shagging Scorpius Malfoy. How am I ever going to have sex again in a world where that is true?"
"There's only one thing for it, Jamie," Teddy said, leaning over and waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Get right back on the broom. Sorry," Teddy said, his eyes darting to James' shoulder. "Unfortunate analogy."
James waved the words away. He had bigger problems. "How can you think about sex at a time like this?"
"How can you not? I've been thinking about you non-stop, being honest."
"Oh," James said, letting the words sink in. "Right, I need to have the last twenty minutes wiped from my brain first." He knew experience that Teddy wouldn't Obliviate him, so he didn't even ask. "I'm going to the loo."
"Me too. Uh, wash my hands."
"It's not stalls, you know," James whispered as Teddy started to follow him in.
"Go on and don't call attention," Teddy muttered, shoving James through the door and against the wall. "Let's see if I can't wipe the last twenty minutes from your brain."
"It'll have to be-"
James was silenced by Teddy's lips, soft and firm and pulling James' bottom lip between them. He leaned in, pushing James into the wall, sliding his hands down his sides. James' cock filled, Teddy so close and kissing him like that, and he still had to catch up that he and Teddy did this now, and his fucking dad would be here in five minutes, fresh from whatever it was with Scorpius.
Teddy slid his tongue out of James' mouth, which was a shame really. "You're thinking about it, aren't you? Maybe I need to fuck you into the wall to make you forget it."
"Maybe my dad fucked Scorpius Malfoy into a wall."
Teddy rolled his eyes and backed up half a step. "Why are you so worried? I've been around them at work, and your dad seems happy."
"You knew?" James asked, and backed up another half a step. His dad would be here in four minutes. And he'd have to sit across from him and look at him and pretend he didn't know and he'd have to look at Teddy and pretend he wasn't thinking about fucking him. He'd end up with indigestion.
"I told you, I suspected. Anyway, I think everyone but you and Al have some idea, really."
James had no clue what to say to that and his cock was hard and his dad would be here in three and a half minutes.
"I need to...my dad-"
Teddy slowly sank to his knees and sitting on his heels, grinned at James through his shaggy fringe.
"You need to calm down," Teddy said, soothing and sweet. He flung James' robes open with a flick of his wand.
"That's not calming me down." James gasped as Teddy reached for his belt buckle, threading the leather through the catch with nimble fingers.
"Give me five minutes," Teddy whispered, leaning in to kiss the sensitive skin just below James' navel.
"Oh god, ah, my dad'll be here in two." James bit his bottom lip, soft and full from Teddy's kisses, and watched Teddy press his lips to every bit of skin he uncovered as he undid James' trousers and slipped down his pants.
"I'll have to be quick, then, won't I?"
He angled his head and sucked gently right above the base of James' cock.
"Teddy," James groaned. Someone turned the door handle. James jumped, staring as the person jiggled it a couple of times.
Teddy released the tender flesh from his mouth and licked at the spot, sliding his tongue to the underside of James' cock and up the length. At the tip, he curled his tongue around the head, just like he curled it around James' tongue when they kissed. He followed that same path again and again, making James' cock slick and wet.
"Teddy, unh, please," he moaned, rocking his hips, begging Teddy to take him in to his mouth.
"Mmm," Teddy hummed and swirled his tongue around the head of James' cock again, parting his lips a little more with each turn, letting James' cock slip inside his beautiful mouth.
James combed his fingers through Teddy's hair, soft strands slipping between his fingers. Teddy moved back and forth and James watched his cock slide in and out of his mouth. He couldn't remember being the focus of such intense attention, attention he wanted, and he closed his eyes and sighed at just how long he'd wanted Teddy like this. Teddy grasped the base of James cock with his hand and met his mouth on each stroke. He tilted his head to look up at James, raw desire in his grey eyes, and sucked hard on the head while that hand worked the length. James panted. He tried to thrust, to get deeper into Teddy's mouth, but Teddy's hand on his stomach and hand on his cock had complete control. He was at Teddy's mercy. He opened his mouth to beg and groaned as he came hard and fast and without warning. Teddy slid his mouth further down James' cock, his tongue soothing over it as James shuddered and came slowly down. He braced his hand on the sink to stop from slithering down the wall in a heap.
"There. You haven't thought about your dad for a full six minutes," Teddy said, sitting back and looking extremely pleased with himself.
"Come here," James said, pulling Teddy to his feet. He kissed him, curling his tongue around Teddy's and pulling his own taste from Teddy's mouth. He trailed his hand down Teddy's body to trace the bulge in the front of his trousers. Teddy laughed, warm and breathy, and pulled back from the kiss.
"I can wait. I want you later," Teddy murmured, his lips catching James' ear lobe. "You're going to bend me over the bar you're now in charge of. Think about that while you and your dad catch up."
James splashed water on his face. It didn't help. He was still flushed and in disarray, and anticipation made his cock twitch when he looked at Teddy and pictured his long body folded over the shining, dark wood of the bar.
Teddy opened the door and peered out. Apparently deciding the coast was clear, he dashed out into restaurant and James followed. His dad was already at the table-probably had been for at least eight minutes.
"Oh, hello there, Teddy. What a coincidence, you're here as well," Harry said, distractedly putting down the menu. James didn't even know the place had menus.
"Not much of one. I told you I was coming here after work," Teddy said with a smirk.
"Right, so you did," Harry said. He smiled fondly at Teddy and shook his head.
"Tiring day, Dad?" James asked. He almost felt sorry for him. He looked so nervous and James wondered what he thought James was going to do when he found out.
"Blimey, yes," Harry said. He sighed and put the menu down. "How did you know?"
"Lucky guess."
Harry gestured to the chairs and James pulled one out and sat down next to his dad. "Join us, Teddy?"
"Well, I'm off actually," Teddy said, giving James a crooked smile. "Seems you two have a lot to talk about and I've some things to do. See you tomorrow, Harry. Cheers, James. Suppose I'll see you at the Hog's Head."
His gaze lingered on James and James felt the flush in his cheeks deepen as he watched him walk away. And now he was hard to boot, and here he sat with his dad-his dad who might very well be about to tell him that Scorpius Malfoy was his new step-dad. Now that his cock was no longer in Teddy's mouth, the sounds of those intimate voices had rushed back into his mind, and he had no idea what he would actually say if his dad did tell him. Not to mention he had to try to get through a conversation about serious life issues with his stubborn father and the last thing he wanted to do tonight was talk about either the Hog's Head or his love life in this state of randy anticipation.
"I know you wanted to tell me something, but you're tired and I'm tired and it's been a while since we just sat together. Let's just relax and eat," James said hopefully.
A look of near-joy spread across Harry's face and he waved the waiter over to order two portions of fish and chips and two pints.
Part Two