Lacerta Black -- James Potter --

29

"He picked a club, Moony," Sirius hissed angrily. "My sixteen-year-old brother is going to turn out like me!" 

He felt like a disappointed father. As the oldest, he felt responsible for his younger siblings. Standing in the middle of a busy muggle club had him uncharacteristically sober as he stalked the other two through the crowd. He recruited Remus and James to watch out for them as well, which the latter was happily doing. 

"You said he could do anything," Remus retorted. As the tallest, he was keeping an eye on Regulus and his three friends. There was Pandora Lestrange, who he was sure they were related to in some way, with her long, pale hair and blue eyes. Dorcas Meadowes with her carefree attitude, long dreads, and clever brown eyes. He made a note to introduce her to Marlene. And Gavin, who he didn't like ogling his brother. 

Sirius's head snapped up when he heard loud coughing. Muggle liquor wasn't nearly as sweet as the alcohol in the wizarding world. It was rough on the throat and burnt all the way down to the stomach. Regulus was taking his first shot and promptly choking on it. He went into big brother mode, trying to get up when a firm hand pushed him back down into the chair. 

He looked quickly to where Lacerta was trying to get James to dance. The couple had been uncomfortably close lately. When they had moved into their new cottage in the small village of Dedham, James had been there every day to help them move in and paint. He'd even tried to stay the night until both Regulus and Sirius kicked him out. 

His eyes narrowed when Lacerta twirled James around before bringing him into a heated kiss. He looked away only to see Gavin rubbing his brother's back, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek that he thought no one else would see. Sirius glared at the floor. He was too nervous to fully enjoy himself.

Remus laughed at his disgruntled expression. "What's wrong with you?" he nudged their feet together. "I don't think I've ever seen you this overprotective of them."

"I-I just feel like I've been a shitty brother lately," he said sheepishly. "Now that I'm in charge of them I feel like I need to step it up. I fucking burnt dinner last night and since none of us have ever cooked before it's been difficult not just eating take out every night."

"I could teach you," the lycanthrope offered with a wry grin. It made Sirius's heart leap out of his chest even after all those years. The full moon was about five days away and he could see it pulling at the other boy. It was the way his eyes drooped tiredly and the sickly sheen on his face. The Marauders planned to meet at the Lupin cottage since they could all apparate. 

"I'd love that. A lot," he empathized. Every chance he got, he would try and sweeten up Remus in hopes that they would get back together just to get turned down. 

He missed the boy in front of him more than he cared to acknowledge. He almost shivered every time he remembered his touch, the stroke of his hand on his cheek or how his body would ignite with a single kiss. 

Lacerta moved her hands under James's jumper, relishing in how warm and toned his stomach was. They moved together like a song. In perfect harmony. "We should stop," he moved away with a warning in his voice. "You're drunk."

"I've had three drinks," she pouted.

He kissed her one more time before he pulled away, still holding one of her hands. She smiled at him as she wondered how she got so lucky to land a guy like James Potter. "Did you want me to get you another drink or some water?"

"Water's fine," she answered. If there was any guy in the world she would trust to get her a drink without putting something in it, it was him. Hardly a second passed before he was back with a proud look on his face. He presented the drink with a slight bow. 

"Bored without me?"

"Absolutely," she rolled her eyes, sipping on the straw. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they sat in a booth. "Have you ever thought about the future? With what Dumbledore said and the war going on."

"There's only one thing I'm certain about," he moved her chin so that he was looking into her eyes. His were so mesmerizing with the green near his pupils fading into brown. "I want to spend it with you."

"You cheesy motherfucker," she kissed him slowly, never getting tired of how amazing it made her feel. When she looked at him again, she was suddenly serious. "Would you fight in the war?"

He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I - yeah. I want to fight."

It was infuriating for James. Her emotions were never shown on her face unless she wanted someone to know how she was feeling. It was artfully blank. "I thought you'd say that" she smiled, but it didn't seem genuine. "Mon garçon lion." 

"What's that mean?" he played with the ends of her hair. He had blushed at the foreign language, trying hard to not look at her lips. 

"You'll find out one day," she smirked. They had a whole lifetime together for her to speak French to him and to watch him looked turned on by the fact but also be confused. 

"Are you going to fight?"

"I don't know," she said truthfully. Even though it wasn't the answer he wanted, he didn't push her any further. It was a sensitive discussion, especially with her family being at the other end of the wand. 

Regulus grimaced at his seventh shot. Pandora and Dorcas were cheering him on loudly, getting a lot of annoyed looks from the more sober patrons. Gavin coughed up his shot, effectively losing the competition. 

"YES!" the young boy jumped out of his seat with his arms raised. It was the best he's ever felt in his life. "Take that you shit talking Puff."

"You're a posh pureblood," he said back, but there was no venom in his teasing tone. And holy shit, Regulus was too pissed to control himself as he snogged that smug smile off the other boy's face. 

The girls seemed to have disappeared as a hand got tangled with his curls and Regulus rested his own on Gavin's shoulders. They were too far gone to control the sloppy movements, but they both felt like they were on cloud nine when they pulled apart. 

He panicked. The shouts of his mother screaming echoed in his head. "TOJOUR PURS, REGULUS!"

"I shouldn't have done that," he mumbled. He was suddenly very sober and very sick. 

Gavin cupped his face in his calloused hands. It grounded him immediately. As if they were the only two people in the room. He took a deep breath as soon as he felt like he could breathe. "I liked it and would like to do again if you're alright with it."

He nodded, not ready to use words to say what he was feeling. Gavin knew he might not be ready for another snog, so he settled for a gentle kiss on his forehead before they set off to rejoin their friends. They had more shots to take.