Found Heaven
James Potter had known from a young age he was destined for fame. Finding himself on a stage for a sold-out arena for the third consecutive night, however, was not quite the level of fame his six-year-old self had imagined. Still, (no matter how many times he tried to convince himself he didn't), James loved the attention.
Because of this, he couldn't find it in himself to be overwhelmed by the lights, or the crowd, or even the poor, oblivious girls packed against the barricade, hands desperately trying to reach him. He instead felt an all-consuming glee as he took in the crowd, his bandmates taking the stage behind him.
His bandmates who, a small part of James's brain acknowledged, were currently waiting for him to sing the starting line of their opening song. When deciding on an opener for their tour, the obvious choice had been the song James had written about finding heaven in his family and friends, a notion which, not counting the former, was widely agreed upon throughout the group. After all, lifetime long friendships, and the highest grossing album of the year, tends to make a sap out of anyone.
Gathering his composure, christ but he was a sap, James recited the opening chorus before Remus entered, playing bass.
“No god above us,
Can we repent this sin?
No soul is innocent,
Everybody wants to love.”
Throughout the years, James still found this song to be one of his favorites in his discography. He had written it about Sirius, in attempts to help him feel loved, even without his family. He had not, however, expected the small song he recorded, with a band of his three closest friends, to become known worldwide, and pave the way for an empire. For, "The Marauders".
Years later, he found himself searching for Sirius's eyes over his guitar as he sang verses about him not needing to be afraid of his true self, the one that had gotten him kicked out of his horrific family. It still warmed his heart immeasurably, after hundreds of shows and gigs, to hear their fans chanting the words, seeing themselves in the lyrics, finding heaven in the crowd. He could tell, through Sirius's shining eyes, that it warmed his heart too.
Ending the song, reassuring the listener that they aren’t abnormal, James glanced over to Peter to ensure the next song was queued up.
He allowed himself to get lost in the songs, the routine of it all, not paying much attention to the songs that were crowd favorites without much sustenance. That is, until something distracted him from his routine.
James had a longstanding bad habit of glancing to the side of the stage, beyond the audience's eyes, left over from his years of searching for Lily. Though Mary, their manager, reminded him before every show to stay present and with the crowd, he still found his eyes drifting over from time to time.
It was this particular time that he caught sight of a slim figure with ebony hair watching them. James recognized him the second his eyes met Regulus Black’s striking silver ones.
It took every fiber of his being to tear his eyes away and focus on the song they were playing.
“Lover.” Fitting.
Luckily, Sirius had taken over this song, after Lily and James had broken up, which he had originally thrown a fit over, but James could tell he no longer minded, based on the way he gazed at Remus as he softly sung the verses. Remus was doing his best to focus on his instrument and backing vocals, which would have been convincing had it not been for his bright red cheeks.
Looking back towards the side stage, he met Regulus’s eyes again and saw a shimmer of amusement in them. Regulus smirked, glancing between Remus and Sirius, before slipping out of sight.
Confused, James looked towards Sirius, who had torn his eyes away from Remus after reaching the last word of the song, which was, predictably, “lover”. What could James say, he had been in love, after all.
Meeting Sirius’s eyes, he flashed a questioning gaze, to which Sirius simply smirked, much like his brother had moments prior. Still smirking, and giving James a knowing look, Sirius began to move towards the microphone in the middle of the stage. Even more confused now, as this hadn’t been on the schedule, James stared after him.
“Hello London!” Sirius shouted into the mic, met with booming cheering and thundering applause.
“Now, I may have a surprise for you tonight… I’m aware you’ve come to the show, expecting to see only our beautiful faces, but for one night and one night only, we are joined by yet another!”
At this, Regulus Black stepped on the stage.
Amidst the chaos of the crowd, James was able to realize four things in quick succession.
1.) Regulus Black was on the stage at their show.
2.) Regulus Black was about to sing a song.
3.) Regulus Black was still just as beautiful as he had been when he’d left that party a year ago.
4.) James Potter was FUCKED.
Mouth dry, and thoughts flying through his head, James attempted to process the man in front of him. He had expected Regulus to eventually show up to a gig, given him and Sirius’s in-the-mend relationship. He had not expected him on the stage, gorgeous in oversized dress trousers and a loose green button up. He had not expected the top two buttons to be undone. He had not expected eyeliner and silver eyeshadow. He had not expected to see silver rings on every finger, and ears adorned with the star earrings James had vaguely remembered Sirius gifting Regulus years ago on his birthday.
And he had, most of all, not expected Regulus to begin singing in the quiet, silky voice that had driven girls and boys alike mad when he had debuted.
Through the haziness of his mind, he was able to catch the lyrics, vaguely noting that Remus had begun to play along.
“When the speed kicks in,
I go to the store for nothing”
Shakily, James glanced over to Sirius, because of course James knew this song, and of course he knew it was about Sirius. It was the first song Regulus had released after escaping Grimmauld Place, his first hit single, the first step to repairing his and Sirius’s broken relationship.
Sirius, however, didn't meet his eyes, too busy struggling to keep a cool composure for the thousands of eyes watching, something James was still finding difficult.
“The drug stores are open all night,
The only real reason I moved to the east side,
I love a good place to hide in plain sight.”
Regulus’s eyes flitted to Sirius’s as he began to sing the chorus. James knew this was a big moment, a huge step, Sirius hearing live the song that had ensured him his brother was safe, and most of all, home.
“What if I told you,
I feel like I know you,
But we never met.
And here everyone knows,
you’re the way to my heart,
Hear so many stories of you at the bar,
Most times, alone, and some at your worst,
But never not sweet to the trust funds, and punishers.”
Regulus’s eyes moved back to the crowd, shining with something, as he sang the verse that would never, no matter how many years Regulus had been free of that place, fail to make James want to scoop him in his arms and hide him from it.
“Man, I wish that I could say the same,
I swear, I’m not angry, that’s just my face.
A copycat killer, with a chemical cut.
Either I’m careless, or I want to get caught.”
James watched, head ringing, as Regulus turned the mic towards the crowd, allowing them to sing, his head bowing, and eyes firmly on the ground. A move James was all too familiar with, after his years of observing Regulus through the media. A move to gather his composure.
Turning the mic back to his lips, Regulus ended the song, greeted with thunderous applause, and many, many 'I love you's' and 'marry me’s'.
He smiled a sad smile, before speaking into the microphone.
“Thank you all for allowing me the privilege of performing for you,” he said, turning towards Sirius, “thank you to my brother for inviting me,” then to Remus, “thank you Remus for playing for me, and,” glancing at Peter with a quick smile that was just as quickly returned, then looking at James, his eyes still shining with that something , “thank you Peter and James for having me.”
With that, Regulus Black once again slipped behind the stage, and out of sight.