Brides and Blacks

The Venue

8AM found James parked outside 34 Thames Street, rolling down the passenger window of his black Ford Anglia, scanning the windows of the apartment building for any sign of Reggie. To say he was feeling nervous would be an understatement. The butterflies in his stomach had quickly grown tired of simply fluttering and instead opted for doing violent backflips against his rib cage, flying all the way up to tighten in his throat before falling right back down, kicking hard thumps against his heart on their descent.

What was he doing? Why did he do these things to himself? He squinted his eyes in attempt to peer further into the windows of the building, but it was no use. Who told him this was a good idea? What if Reggie didn't want him here? Okay, so Reggie definitely didn't want him there. That wasn't even a question, Remus practically told him as much. James groaned, resting his forehead against the steering wheel. So why was he here then?

Who's to say. Maybe it was the memory of Reg walking to the pub a few days before in the cold and the rain, just a long sleeve blouse and that feeble excuse for an umbrella keeping him warm. Maybe it was the sound of bubbling of laughter, the warm feeling he got when he thought about how much he loved his friends, and the idea of making another. Maybe it was the nightmare he'd half forgotten from the night before, a dark haired man getting mugged by felons on a broke down bus. Maybe it was his blue grey eyes, the way he brushed loose curls away from them to better glare at James. The close lipped smile poorly hidden behind glasses of drink he was too embarrassed to name. The sound of his laugh. Or the whisper of scandalous flirtations across a bar counter top. James suddenly felt very warm. He rolled down the other window hoping for a bit of relief. That's when he was spotted.

"James?" Reggie called, starting to make his way towards the car. He stood under a graffitied glass bus shelter. He wore a coat today. Only a thin black jacket over dark jeans and a white shirt. Still, it made James smile. He thought he looked lovely.

"What are you doing here?" He was beside the car now, one hand leaning on the roof to hold his balance as he cranned his neck to peer at James through the open window. He realised the proximity was doing nothing for his overheating problem, the reason he opened the window in the first place. He cursed the sky and figured this must be karma for some sort of prank from years passed. It's fine , he told himself, It's just like speaking with Pete. You're only friends...

"I heard you were in need of a lift." James plastered on his warmest smile. The kind that put the sun to shame for not shining bright enough. He thought he'd have to fake it to convince Reggie to accept his help, but it felt more like once he'd started smiling he couldn't stop. Like it had been buried under mounts of fear and guilt and now that it was safe to be free, now that Reggie was here, it was never going to go away again.

"Really?" Reg quirked and eyebrow, sending a skeptical look to James that only made him smile wider, "And where exactly did you hear that?"

"Remus." James confirmed. Reggie seemed slightly taken aback by this, so he continued, "He's dating my best mate."

"...The bartender?" Reg asked.

"Yeah. You know him?" James felt a little confused now. He was sure they'd never met...

"We've never met." Reg confirmed. James felt himself relax tense muscles he didn't realise he was holding. The thought of Sirius and Reg hanging out made his stomach do a strange little twist. He was sure they'd get along, the more he thought about it the more he realise how very similar they were. No, he wasn't afraid they'd hate one another. It was more like, for right now, Reggie was his . Well, really he was Dorcas's. But in those small moments shared between just the two of them, James thought he'd like to keep a little bit of Reggie all to himself. Whichever bit he could get.