Peter found out that James was Spider-Man by accident. He wasn't looking where he was going. He crossed the street to go around traffic, lost in his head, daydreaming as he often was, adding color to a world that often felt grey to him. The cab ran a red light, and all Peter saw before he was swept away was a blur of yellow barreling toward him, a car horn blaring, someone shouting, and then, he was lifted off the ground. He'd almost considered that the cab had hit him and he didn't feel it because of adrenaline, maybe his body was soaring from impact, and any moment he would slam bodily into the concrete, cracking his head open. But the cab didn't hit him, and Peter did go flying. When he opened his eyes, he saw white bug eyes outlined in black staring back at him, and a red mask covering any features, before he was deposited carefully onto the sidewalk. Peter only gaped in shock, reeling from all of it and tripping over his adrenaline.
"You alright?" Spider-Man asked him, and Peter, still reeling, only nodded vigorously. He didn't register how familiar the voice had sounded until Spider-Man spoke again, straightening Peter's jacket, "Gotta watch where you're going, Petey! These cabbies are ruthless."
Peter's mouth snapped shut, mind catching up to the situation rapidly, even as he was filled with confusion. "I- sorry, what did you call me?"
Spider-Man paused, an odd laugh escaping him, good-natured but uncomfortable at the same time, "Oh, nothing, just be careful, yeah? I've gotta... rescue a cat from a tree or something, bye!"
With that, Spider-Man disappeared, launching a web to catch a window high above the street and flinging himself forward, vanishing around the corner. There were very few people who called him that, Petey. His mother and his little sister, mostly, but they certainly weren't Spider-Man. The mere idea that Spider-Man would know his name sent a thrill through him, the idea that maybe someone sees Peter, that he matters to someone as important as Spider-Man. He walked home with a small smile on his face, replaying the moment over and over again. See, Peter Pettigrew was often overlooked. He was quieter than most, awkward and shy at best, a wallflower who didn't mind being on the outskirts usually. But lately, that feeling of being invisible, even to the people he loved most, was eating at him, leaving less and less of the real him behind, a deep, rotten resentment taking its place.
See, Peter Pettigrew had never been the favorite child, and that was fine. He was the second of three, and school came easy to him so his grades were always high, but then, he was never praised for that. He wasn't particularly talented like his older brother with sports, or his younger sister with theater, he liked the sciences, but none of his family bothered to come to the science fairs. He didn't have many friends, a quiet few with equal temperament to him that he saw at school, but never talked to otherwise, no one to really know or see him. It was normal for him, and that was fine because he'd gotten all the attention and praise he needed from his best friend James. Or, he used to before the Black brothers came along.
When he was in primary school, he met a messy boy his age with scabbed, knobby knees, an abundance of energy, and a rampant desire to befriend everyone he came across. He and James made fast friends, the boy with a ball of energy and a shock of black hair to match it, and Peter with his blotchy round cheeks and a nervous smile, cerulean eyes peeking out from blonde fringe. Peter was a bit of a loner, even at five years old, he quietly played by himself, smashing clay between chubby fingers or curling up in a reading corner with a picture book. But James put an end to that the first day they met, pulling him in with his magnetic personality and comforting smile, James' attention was always enough to make him feel like the most important man in the world. But then, in 7th year, Sirius Black waltzed into school, towing in a smaller boy who could've been his twin, following so closely he might as well have been Sirius' shadow.
Peter could clearly remember the day Sirius came in, he and James were sharing a table in maths, and Peter was correcting James’ answers when the teacher's back was turned while James tapped restlessly on the table, knees jumping, always too energetic to sit still and focus for long. Peter had looked up curiously when James' relentless tapping stopped, his gaze fixed curiously on two boys crowded in the doorway. Their teacher had dropped her chalk to walk over to them, ushering them inside to introduce the boys to the class. Sirius smirked cockily when introduced to the class, popping his gum and giving a lazy wave of the free hand not wrapped around the younger, while Regulus, only stared at the ground with pink cheeks. The teacher had scolded Sirius lightly for the chewing gum before leaving to escort Regulus to the proper class, a year below.
Sirius gave Regulus' retreating figure a little salute and with an ever-widening smirk, stuck his gum in the teacher's chair, catching James' eye and giving him a cheeky wink. Peter remembers watching James match his grin, sparkling hazel eyes behind perpetually smudged glasses betraying his excitement, knowing exactly what James was thinking, he had found a new friend in mischief. From then on, James and Sirius were the bane of every teacher's existence, subject to exhausted sighs when their schedules aligned and they were in the same classes each year.
Slowly, Peter began to fade into the background, as he always did, but for as long as he'd known James, he'd never let him disappear, not the way that Peter's family did. For a while, Peter held onto the hope that James wouldn't let him disappear, one of his oldest friends, his most loyal, no, he'd never forget Peter.
But James did forget. He used to walk home with Peter every day, stopping at the bodega for after-school snacks or a nice park to stretch out in the sun. But now, James was in detention with Sirius so much, that Peter often walked home by himself. They sat together at lunch, but Sirius often talked over Peter, not on purpose, he was just as overexcited as James, and both of them would speak their own language, a mile a minute, not leaving room for mild Peter to comment. Peter tried not to let it bother him, James was still his friend, he'd always had to share James with everyone else, he was too likable, and Peter knew not to compete.
James always made time for him eventually, and Peter stuck around waiting for James to remember him. But after a while, it didn't seem to matter to James whether Peter was around or not, so he stopped trying and let the distance grow, watching James and Sirius bond and build their own world together, with no room for anything or anyone else.
He grew to resent James, grew to resent the haughty way he walked around the school, overly confident and smug. He and Sirius became the most popular boys at school rather quickly, and Peter watched as the world practically bent around them to accommodate them. It was the little things that ate at Peter in the beginning, once he wasn't James' friend anymore, wasn't blinded by his kindness and magnetic personality, all he could think about was how jealous he was, and how bad it hurt that James did even seem to care.
It wasn't until he got to the front entrance of Pettigrew Enterprise, a massive skyscraper he called home, that he realized one other person used to call him Petey when they were still close friends. The familiar voice, the awkward lie, the nickname, could only be one person. Oh, of course. It made him angrier than it ought to, of course James Potter would be Spider-Man. People like Peter matter even less to people like Spider-Man. Heroes need someone to worship them, James always needed everyone to like him, so it made sense. It made sense and made him impossibly furious, Peter was tired of being the little guy, the invisible, the one meant to fall at the altar of those like James Potter and Sirius Black. Peter decided then he was done trailing after the likes of James, done waiting for their friendship to return, he wanted to hurt him back, hurt both of them the way that James had hurt him.
Regulus wasn't answering his phone. Sirius and James waited under the short awning of the entrance of the school, looking out into a hazy, rainy London sky as students filtered around them hiding beneath hoods and umbrellas. They were meant to walk Regulus home from art club, but he'd yet to show. Sirius leaned against the brick, smoking a cigarette and ignoring James' exaggerated and pointed coughs in his direction.
Sirius rolled his eyes, flicking ash off the end of his smoke, unbothered, "You don't even have asthma anymore, you freak."
"I could!" James said indignantly, tinkering with a small part of his web shooter to occupy his hands, though it wouldn't look like much to anyone else. He'd been thinking about adding more features to it lately, like electric webs or the ability to shoot five webs at once. "Radioactive spider powers probably don't prevent lung cancer, and that's just secondhand smoke, your lungs are probably made of black tar and sludge by now!"
"You're hardly British if you're not a smoker, Pothead, it's in our culture," Sirius turned his head to blow the smoke in James' direction, James waving a hand in his face rapidly with a wrinkled nose and flipping him off for the use of his old nickname. Sirius ignored him, checking the time on his phone, "Bloody hell, it's half past five, where's my brother? He should've been here ages ago."
James shrugged, dialing Regulus’ number again, "Dunno, haven't heard or seen him since lunch, maybe his phone died and he walked home with someone else?"
"Unlikely, do you know the little shit to have many friends?" Sirius stubbed out his smoke with a shoe, sighing, "Walburga will kill me if I don't bring him home, she likes us on a tight leash, that barmy cow."
James winced sympathetically, drawing the phone back from his ear, "Got voicemail again. Maybe he wasn't feeling well, and went home early."
Sirius was about to suggest they take a look inside the school before heading back when both of their phones chimed at the same time. An unknown number, a floating grey bubble on their screens with two words followed by an unfamiliar address in a dingy part of London.
Missing something?
James' phone chimed a second time, this message just for him by the same unknown number.
Bring the suit. You know the one, Spider.
Cold dread prickled at the back of his neck, raising the hairs there, a shiver rolling down his spine as he turned the screen to show Sirius. Silence fell between them, swelling and thickening, anxiety, a strong undercurrent.
"That has to be a prank, right?" Sirius said eventually, with a nervous laugh, "Reggie's just being a wanker like always, thought it'd be funny or something."
James shook his head, still staring at the screen uneasily, "No, something's not right about this, I can feel it. Someone knows about me, and they’ve kidnapped Reg to ensure that Spider-Man makes an appearance."
The address took them to an abandoned warehouse on the east side of London, secluded, the street lamps around it completely dark, the sidewalks empty except for the occasional squatter in a dirty alley. Sirius walked the darkened streets, chain-smoking to calm his nerves as he scanned his surroundings for anything suspicious, a knot of anxiety in his stomach. If he squinted, he could just barely make out a swift-moving shadow along the rooftops, a faint outline of a figure and silvery threads illuminated by the moonlight.
James tried to argue that it wasn't safe for him to come, that they had no idea what they were walking into, but it was Sirius' brother, there was no way he was staying behind. Sirius wasn't a superhero, and he didn't have any special talents, except for maybe chainsmoking like his life depended on it and sweet-talking his way into getting what he wanted. Not that either would help him much, but perhaps he could flirt with his brother's kidnapper, or offer him a pack in exchange for Regulus. God, he was useless.
Two buildings away from the warehouse, James dropped down next to him silently, making Sirius fumble and drop his cigarette with a yelp. "Oi, that was my last one, you webhead!"
"Webhead? Really?"
"I'm sorry, it's a little hard to think of proper insults for whatever the hell you are, and I'm under duress! My baby brother is missing!"
James shushed him, looking around nervously and pulling him further into the shadows of an alleyway as a car passed by. "Listen, I'm going to scope out the building, get a look at how many people are in there, and see if I can find Reg or if it's just some kind of a trap for me. I don't know why they contacted you too, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to get caught in this."
"What am I supposed to do?! Some psycho might be holding my baby brother hostage in there!" Sirius whisper yelled, waving his arms angrily.
"You're going to stay here. I don't know what we're walking into, and I don't need to worry about your safety too." James stated firmly, stress lines pinching the corner of his eyes. Sirius opened his mouth to protest immediately, but James cut him off. "No. I let you come this far, but you're not going in there without protection."
"I have you," Sirius argued, silvery blue eyes alight with indignant anger.
"And what if I can't protect you both?" James countered, fear like a stone dropped in the well of his stomach at the mere thought of losing both brothers. He grabbed his best friend's shoulders, squeezing and emphasizing every word, "Stay here and I'll get Regulus out safely, I promise."
He didn't find much in the building, no guards by the doors, no thugs with guns. The only light came from a few naked bulbs over the main stone floor, covered with broken glass and dirt, graffiti on every inch of the walls. He could only hear one other heartbeat in the building besides Regulus' galloping one, but he hadn't seen where they were, still lurking somewhere in the shadows. Regulus was standing uncomfortably still in the middle of the bare room, arms wrapped around himself, shoulders hunched like he was trying to make himself small. James crawled through a window on the main floor, apprehension in every step, his senses screaming it was a trap, he just couldn't tell what it was yet. He inched his way toward his boyfriend silently, sticking to the shadows. Regulus had yet to notice him, and James could see the tremble in his form, his enhanced hearing picked up the shallow breaths and hammer of his heart.
"Regulus," James whispered, stepping into the faint yellow light, eyes still bouncing around as he tried to catch movement on the other floors above them, or in the dark corners.
Regulus' head shot up, bruising clear down from his temple to his jaw, dark curls messy and hanging limply around his ears. The wild look of sheer terror on his boyfriend's face made James' blood roar in his ears, sending a jolt straight through his core. The trembling in Regulus' shoulders only increased when he saw James, he raised a pale shaky hand to halt him, movements slow and careful. "Stop! Don't come any closer."
James slowed his steps, raising his arms as if trying to calm a wild animal, but didn't stop his approach, "Why not? What's going on?"
"Please, Jamie," Regulus whispered, still trying to hold him at arm's length. James stopped when Regulus' hand pressed into his chest, James' hand coming up automatically to cover Regulus', scrutinizing him for more injuries and only finding fear in every harsh line of his body. Regulus' knees wobbled a little, making his weight shift, a soft clank coming from the ground at his feet made him gasp, scrunching his eyes closed. "Please, you need to leave."
"What-" James looked down, and his heart fell with his gaze. There was a square, slightly raised metal platform underneath Regulus' feet with a small clock of red numbers counting down minutes, and three colorful wires connecting from the clock to the bottom of the plate. A pressure plate, James' mind supplied, a bomb that detonates when the poor soul stuck on it tries to move and escape the blast. James' eyes widened, and he saw his own terror reflected in Regulus' glassy grey eyes, the color of a cloudy London sky after a storm.
"I have to say I'm a bit disappointed Spider-Man, I thought you'd bring your other half along with you," Peter's voice came from the second floor, appearing out of the shadows, hands gripping the railing above them. The bags under his eyes were so dark they seemed bruised, with a manic look in the pools of blue, and a twisted grin that James had never seen on his face before. "Your other, other half, sorry Regulus," He tsked condescendingly, tilting his head, "I know what it's like to be second best."
James stepped back carefully, drawing Regulus' hand away from him, brows scrunched in confusion, "Peter? What’s going on here? How did you even find out about me?"
Peter's expression twisted further, callous grin dropping into a scowl, "You've already forgotten, haven't you? A week ago, Spider-Man rescued an innocent civilian from a rogue cabbie, and despite being a complete stranger called him... what?"
James closed his eyes, sighing with defeat, "Petey."
"Ten points for Spider-Man."
"But why are you doing this? Why would you want to hurt Regulus and Sirius, hurt me?" He demanded, betrayal an ugly twisting in his gut, hands curling into shaking fists, "I've known you since you were five! We're best friends! What, you find out I'm Spider-Man and suddenly have a vendetta?"
"Are we best friends, James? You could've fooled me," Peter hissed, leaning over the railing that overlooked the first floor, shaking his head wryly, "No, I'm nothing to people like you, Potter. I used to be your friend before they came along and I became an extra, trailing behind you like a member of the James Potter fan club. Well, you can see me now, can't you? I've gotten your attention."
James thrust both arms out, webbing the ledge, and launching himself over the second floor, sailing over the railing and forcing Peter to stumble back into the wall in surprise. James pinned him into the wall with his forearm pressed to his throat, "Yes, you have my attention. What are you going to do with it?"
"Consequences, James," Peter rasped, a ragged breath escaping his lips, "I thought about hurting just you, but then I thought of your precious Black brothers, and what better way to humble you? To make you remember who was there for you before they were, before you were spectacular, before you mattered."
James shook his head in disbelief, feeling as though he were in an awful dream, this couldn't be the Peter he met in primary school. "Consequences for what? Not being as close as we were when we were five?! You’re insane. You were my friend, and I loved you, but I hardly recognize you now."
“This isn’t insane, James, this is poetic justice.” Peter laughed in his face, and even that didn’t sound right to James, everything he could recognize his friend by was gone, died long ago and was replaced with whatever evil was looking at him now.
James removed his arm roughly, "Let him go, Peter. Tell me how to detonate the bomb and let him go, I don't want to hurt you, but I will."
"Hm, I don't think I will, I'd rather watch you lose him," Peter sneered, rubbing at his sore throat, "I want you to feel what I felt when you forgot about me. I wanted both brothers here, but I'll settle for the one. Sirius will find out soon enough how Spider-Man failed to save his baby brother."
The rage bubbled up fast, and he was moving, hardly remembering to pull his punches before his fist connected with Peter's nose with a distinct crunching noise. "Tell me how to detonate it or I'll kill you!" He bellowed, standing above his former friend and feeling disconnected from his body. James forced himself to breathe, grabbing Peter's arm and dragging him to his feet, his nose crooked and blood flowing over his mouth and down his chin. "What's your plan here? Throw away your future all for petty revenge? Spend the rest of your life in prison for manslaughter?! You're smarter than this, Petey."
"You don't get to call me that!" Peter shouted back, spitting blood and ripping his arm out of James' hold, "I won't go to prison because nobody will know it was me. Who would guess that poor Peter Pettigrew is guilty? MildPeter, shy and forgettable, overlooked by everyone else. No, I don't think anyone would believe it, and you wouldn't want me to tell everyone what you are either. Your secret identity revealed to the entire city.." Peter raved, on a knife's edge between manic and calm, pacing in front of James.
Another form materialized out of the shadows behind Peter, James' senses prickling seconds before they appeared, bringing a raised bottle down upon Peter's head, shattering it on impact as Peter's eyes rolled up into his head, collapsing on the ground in a heap. Sirius raised his arms victoriously, a shit-eating grin on his face, "Take that! See, I'm perfectly capab- is that Pettigrew?"
"Bloody hell, Sirius! I need him awake to tell me how to detonate the bomb!" James, at his wit's end, rubbed his hands down his face as he tried to put together a plan, pacing back and forth, still reeling from Peter's words. He was the reason Regulus was here, standing on a bomb, on the brink of death, waiting for the countdown to end or for his legs to give out.
"A bomb?!" Sirius repeated, paling rapidly and running toward the rusted metal railing to look down on the main floor where Regulus was still standing, wracked with tremors either from fear or from standing still for so long. "Pettigrew did this?! I'll kill him, I'll-"
"James.." Regulus' weak voice floated up to them, bowed head raising slightly to catch his gaze.
James wasted no time jumping over the railing, rolling into a somersault, and making his way to his boyfriend, steadying him with warm hands on his shoulders, wishing he could sweep Regulus away to safety. "Hey, I'm sorry, I'm right here."
Regulus swallowed harshly, the purplish bruises on the side of his face illuminated by the dim lights of the warehouse, making him look sickly pale beneath them. "We're running out of time."
The clock read 5 minutes and 21 seconds, the numbers flashing bright red in warning. James could hear the rapid drumming of Regulus' heart, the way his breaths caught on each inhale, choked out by terror, Sirius' heavy footsteps as he sprinted down the stairs, and could smell the blood streaming from Peter's nose and head. All his senses screamed danger while also giving him useless input, and James may be smart, may be a superhero, but he's not a bomb expert. He'd never had to detonate a bomb before, and he didn't want to risk everyone in the building guessing at it, either.
"Okay, okay lovely," James said, cradling his face, careful around the bruises. He had an idea, only one, the best chance they'd have, but it didn't mean they'd all get out without collapsing the building on top of them. "It's alright, I'm getting you out of this."
He made eye contact with Sirius as he approached at Regulus' back, and he couldn't be sure what his face looked like or what Sirius saw in it, but he nodded as if to say he trusted James to figure it out. James glanced down, 4 minutes and 34 seconds. He stepped closer, inches away from touching the plate with his own feet, despite Regulus' weak attempts to push him away, shaking his head rapidly.
"You have to leave me here, Jamie. You need to take Sirius and go, please. You can't be a hero here, it's okay, I forgive you, but do not let Sirius die here too. Don't you dare let me take you two down with me. Please just leave." Regulus pleaded, a tear slipping down his cheek, hands tugging at James' wrists, trying to get him to let go without unbalancing himself on the plate.
James pressed a chaste kiss to his forehead as he slipped closer, removing one hand from Regulus' face to beckon for Sirius to come nearer behind his back.
"Hush, if you think I'm leaving you here, you don't know me very well, darling." Regulus looked down at the clock, a quiet whimper escaping his mouth, 3 minutes and 40 seconds, more tears falling down his face. James tilted his face up again, keeping his voice level and calm as he inched forward, "Look at me, lovely, I've got you. I love you, you're gonna be okay."
Sirius seemed to understand at the last second, launching forward at the same moment that James ripped his hands from his face and shoved Regulus off the plate, feet already in place before the balance could shift and detonate the bomb. Regulus fell backward with a shout of panic, arms flailing as he tried to grab at James, falling directly into Sirius' waiting arms as he locked them around his brother, dragging him away as fast as he could.
"Let me go! James!" Regulus wailed, fighting hard against Sirius, trying desperately to throw himself forward.
"It's alright, love, I'm Spider-Man, remember? I'll be fine," James called, voice cracking at the end, hoping Regulus didn't catch it. At least they couldn't hear how hard his heart was beating, he intended to look as confident as possible until they were out of sight, if it was the last time the brothers ever saw him, James hoped he appeared brave.
"James! No, no, James!" His voice was frenzied, panicked, so at odds with the cool indifference Regulus normally spoke with, sniping words with teeth and sharp smiles. It hardly sounded like him at all, the cries sounded like that of a little boy, a broken boy.
Sirius grunted, straining to keep his tight hold on his brother as they backed out the door. James watched them with a bittersweet smile, hands behind his back to hide the shake in them.
"Stop fighting me! He'll get out, he's not leaving us, but he won't get out until we're safe!" Sirius said in Regulus' ear, hoping he was right. James always had a plan, he had to. Sirius tightened his hold as his brother flailed and kicked, fiercely trying to throw him off. "Come on, you stubborn pillock. There's not enough time for this! James doesn't have enough time!"
The words finally seemed to get through to Regulus, and with one last look at James, he stopped fighting, stumbling through the door as he tried to keep up with Sirius' frantic pace, trying to get them as far as possible before the bomb went off.
James risked a glance down at the clock, 2 minutes and 13 seconds left. He heaved in the air, trying to work out how he could save Peter and himself, while also hating Peter for putting him in this situation. He couldn't leave his oldest friend to die, though, he wouldn't, it's not right.
He shoved his arms forward to web the railing as he had before, careful not to move his feet as he leaned back slightly. He grasped the webs, tugging until they were pulled taut, not wishing to see just how little time he had left. With a harsh exhale, he leaned back as far as he could without shifting his legs, stretching the webs to the greatest amount, and let go before he could pull in another breath, the webs snapping him forward and off his feet, sending him sailing feet over the railing. Mid-air, James heard the click as he twisted, and he glanced down; barely having enough time to register the puddle of blood where Peter's body resided was smeared, no body to be found before heat exploded at James' back and an ear-shattering roar resounded through the warehouse.
The ceiling cracked above him, chunks of concrete falling through the floor, the entire foundation collapsing and shifting under him, the glass window shattering as James sailed through it, landing hard against the brick in the alleyway. He was still close enough to feel the fire searing through his suit and burning his skin, black smoke thick all around him, and he dragged himself further down the street to get away from it, looking for a blood trail, or Peter's body. Hoping he hadn't killed him, but also hoping he'd never see him again, knowing he might not have the restraint to pull his punches next time.
"James!" Sirius called, the brothers rushed down the street to meet him halfway, as James staggered, bent at the waist as his lungs tried to expel the thick smoke. His face was streaked with sweat and soot, debris dusting his hair in white and grey, his suit had burning holes in it, long tears where he'd gotten caught by the fallen debris, and there were large burns that were the shining pink of charred flesh.
Regulus reached him first, pulling him up and into his arms carelessly, making James wheeze a little, as he tucked his face into James' neck, breathing hard. James cupped the back of his head, fingers threading through the familiar curls; holding his boyfriend tightly even as it made his injuries scream, more than willing to ignore the burning pain to hold him for a while longer, the only sound in his ears was the dancing gallop of their hearts.
After a moment, James pulled back just far enough to see his face, looking between Regulus and Sirius, who was standing awkwardly behind them, "Are you guys alright? Anything hurt or bleeding?"
Sirius shook his head, dirt smudged on his nose and a few new scuffs on his leather jacket. A mess, but whole. "We got just far enough away to avoid the blast, though the aftershock swept us off our feet."
"What about you, lovely?" James asked Regulus, fingers skimming the edges of the mottled bruises on his face, "Does this hurt badly? Are there any more I need to know about?"
Regulus' cool fingers wrapped around his wrist, pulling James' hand down to kiss his fingertips, then the pulse point at his wrist, "I'm fine, Jamie, it's all superficial. As always, you’re worse off than either of us, which I have to say, I'm growing awfully tired of."
"James.." Sirius spoke up, gnawing on the inside of his cheek, apprehension clear in his voice and worry in his eyes, "Did- I mean, Peter- Did you-"
He couldn't seem to find the words, but James heard them anyway, did you kill him? Did you leave him there to die?
James stepped back from Regulus, feeling shame burn him worse than his injuries, the weight of the world on his shoulders, far heavier than it had ever felt before when Spider-Man was only dealing with petty theft.
He swallowed, "He wasn't there when I checked.. not that I had a lot of time with the building collapsing, but I reckon he got out somehow.. I hope he got out."
"I don't, personally," Sirius said in a scathing tone, "He's a rat who deserved what he got if you ask me."
"Don't. It's not-" James coughed again, his head pulsating with pain each time he did, "You can't wish that on someone."
"I think I can, in case you forgot, he had my brother standing on a bomb!" Sirius lashed incredulously.
James shook his head, dragging a hand through his knotted hair and sitting heavily on the sidewalk, "And it's me that pushed him to it in the end. That wasn't Peter, our friend, that was- I don't know, but he made it very clear whose fault it was that Regulus ended up there. He wanted to hurt the both of you to hurt me, to get back at me."
"Oh shut it, you big tosser," Regulus scoffed, making James look up at him in surprise. Regulus knelt in front of him on the sidewalk, a familiar sharpness in his eyes, "Did you knock me out and kidnap me from the art room?"
"No, but-"
Regulus cut him off, "Did you threaten Sirius’ life if I didn't stand on that platform waiting for a bomb to go off?"
"No, but I'm-" James spluttered, frustrated at how simple Regulus made it seem. How black and white his thinking was when James so frequently found himself drowning in the grey.
Regulus grabbed his face, fierce and firm in that protective way of his, "So it's not your fault, then is it? It can't be, logically," He bent so their foreheads touched, voice softening now, "You saved my life and my brother's tonight, Jamie. You can't take responsibility for this, not even your massive savior complex could make sense of this."
James huffed a laugh that hurt his chest, and Regulus rewarded him with a small smile, pecking the corner of his mouth, "Come on, up you get, we need to get you healed up and out of the open before your secret identity becomes less of a secret."
Sirius grabbed James' other arm to help him walk, adding cheekily, "Am I supposed to reward my hero with a kiss as well? Cause I will, but I can't promise you won't fall in love with the better Black brother."
Regulus whacked him upside the head hard enough to make them all stumble when Sirius started making annoying kissing noises at James.
Later, when the explosion was talked about in the news, no body was reported at the scene. It seems, the invisible boy, Peter Pettigrew, had truly vanished.