Only the Brave

Chapter 63: To build a home

September 1979 

The roar of the crowd makes James' blood sing. There's an entire Quidditch stadium chanting his name, and it's only his first game with the Appleby Arrows. He's not the captain, which feels a bit odd, but fair. He's the team's rookie and this is his first game.

He has scored a grand total of one-hundred and twenty points on his own.

Everyone is going absolutely wild. And James is loving every second of it.

On the stands, Regulus is watching the game. He's not shouting or chanting. That's not his style. He's very still, eyes trained on James most of the time while simultaneously keeping track of everything that's going on in the game. James knows when he's off his broom, Regulus will give him a play by play of the strengths and weaknesses of the Arrows.

Honestly, he can't wait.

Swooping down low to avoid a bludger, James flies back into formation to steal the quaffle from the other team. He had missed this. Missed flying for fun. For sport. Missed worrying about bludgers instead of killing curses. Missed the rush of the crowd's love. He's at home on his broom in the middle of a match with his boyfriend in the stands sitting next to Sirius and Remus. Sirius has been on his feet the entire game, bellowing off the top of his lungs like a man possessed. Remus is pretending he doesn't know him.

Marlene isn't here because she's playing her own game with the Cannons. Dorcas, Lily and Pandora are watching her game up in Cardiff. James hopes Marlene's team wins. He's excited about the day they'll play against each other. It's a little sad, but Quidditch teams poach players all the time. The minute he has a bit of a say, he's going to start buggering the Arrows' manager to make a bid for Marlene.

"That was so brilliant!" Sirius shouts of the top of his lungs when James exits the changing rooms after the game. They won by a huge margin after the seeker caught the snitch.

"I'm impressed," Remus adds, smiling at James.

Sirius has jumped on him, and currently has his legs around his waist like a koala, so James cranes his neck over Sirius' shoulder to find Regulus' eyes. He smiles at him but doesn't say anything.

A few months ago, James would have panicked. But now he knows. If Regulus is quiet and smiling at him like that, it means he doesn't want to share in public. Which works for James, because when Regulus wants to be private it's usually really good. 

That's why James does his best to talk to reporters as quickly as humanly possible, then promises Sirius and Remus that they'll have a celebratory pub visit the next day before linking his hand in Regulus and apparating away.

The moment they're in Grimmauld Place, Regulus turns on him and crowds James against the nearest wall. He kisses him and James immediately knows something is happening. Something good and exciting and all the words that he can't think of because he's too busy curling his tongue with Regulus' and sinking into the feeling of it.

When they break the kiss, Regulus runs his teeth over the column of James' throat. "Today," he says, eyes shining wickedly.

Immediately, the blood abandons James' brain and extremities to concentrate in his pants. "Today?" he croaks, swallowing through the mounting excitement.

"Right now," Regulus confirms, smirking.

James knows Regulus has been doing some exposure therapy with his mind healer to get over his touch issues. He's been very pleased with the results recently. Two weeks ago, he was able to sleep as the little spoon for most of the night for the first time since they got back together.

"Here?" James asks, breathless.

"Upstairs," Regulus says, then he pulls back and turns, leaving James panting in the corridor.