Pancakes and hope
When James woke up, Sirius and Regulus were still asleep on the couch. The clock he passed on his way to the kitchen read 20 past nine. Not too bad, he could manage with five hours of sleep. His mother was already sitting at their kitchen table, reading the paper with a mug of coffee sitting in front of her.
“Good morning, mi vida. ¿Cómo estás? Could you sleep at least a little?”, his mother asked after standing up and pressing a kiss to the side of his head.
“Yeah, yeah, estoy bien. I slept for about five hours. I’ll live.”, James shrugged. Euphemia shook her head but passed him a cup of coffee with a fond smile. “Sirius and Regulus still asleep?”, she asked. James made a humming sound and gratefully took the cup.
They sat at their table and talked about articles in the newspaper. Quidditch news and such. Well, there were a lot of other articles but Quidditch was the only thing in there James really cared about. His mother talked about the weather and got up to make pancakes, Sirius’ favourite breakfast. James was glad for the effortless chatting and the normality of this moment.
The window was open, a light breeze carrying in fresh air and the chirping of birds, filling the kitchen with hope. James closed his eyes and felt the sun on his skin. Today would be a sunny, warm day, his mother had said.
James was sure that sunny days were a sign of the universe. He couldn’t prove it but he swore that there was something magical about waking up with the sun, especially after days of rain.
His mother was humming a melody while flipping pancakes and James began setting the table. “They will want to shower first. Would you go hang up some fresh towels for them in the bathroom?” James nodded and left the kitchen to do as his mother asked. He also brought some clean clothes in the bathroom, in case they didn’t bring any. He choose a simple white shirt and some sweats and put them neatly folded next to the sink.
He made his way back downstairs, only to be stopped by an upright-sitting Regulus on his couch.
“Oh, you’re awake. Good morning”, he smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. This boy kind of made him nervous. James didn’t know him at all. He wasn’t sure they ever even held a conversation before. He knew that he was mean and a Slytherin. Oh, and he knew he was friends with Dorcas, Marlene’s girlfriend.
And he knew that Sirius loved him. That was all that mattered, really.
“Hello”, came the short answer while Regulus was trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes.
“Do you want to shower? I just put fresh towels in there”, James asked, not knowing what to do with his hands.
“That would be amazing. I feel like I’ve been run over by a bus.” James just nodded and lead the way to the bathroom, providing Regulus with a toothbrush before leaving him to shower.
He was making his way downstairs when he saw movement in the living room. “Sirius”, he breathed before practically flying down the stairs and into the arms of his, now awake, best friend.
“Sirius. Padfoot. Pads, you motherfucker. Merlin, you scared the living shit out of me”, James whispered into his shoulder, holding on to his shirt so tight it almost tore. “Prongs”, was the only response before Sirius broke down in his arms.
Euphemia was there in an instant, letting James hold Sirius for a moment before drawing him into her own arms. “Sirius, mijo”, she murmured and Sirius melted into her embrace. Yes, Sirius was already family. Always has been.
They gathered around the kitchen table, Sirius telling them about the horrible night before.
Walburga had hit him with an unforgivable.
James jumped up and was almost out the door when these words left Sirius’ mouth. His mother had to push him back in his chair and tell him that his father and her will handle this. James saw the steel in her eyes and the thin line of her lips.
At least you knew where James got his protective streak from.
Sirius told them everything, recalling Regulus blank face and the tears that silently rolled down his face. He remembered how his own voice shook when he said the address of the Potter’s house and watched Regulus disappear in the green flames.
A little while later they heard the steady stream of the shower stop and the bathroom door open. Sirius grabbed a handful of clothes out of his suitcase and sprinted upstairs, eager to take a shower too.
James was taking a sip of his now cold coffee when Regulus appeared in the doorway. He almost choked on his coffee.
Regulus was wearing James’ clothes. Well, you see, he did plan for this because he placed the clothes in the bathroom in the first place. But he definitely did not plan for Regulus to look like that.
Dripping wet curls falling into his angelic face, water droplets drawing lines down his neck and painting his white shirt a light grey. James wanted to follow them down.
Woah.
Now that came out of nowhere. James shook his head before smiling at Regulus. “My clothes seem to fit okay.”
Regulus looked away. “Yes, thank you. I forgot mine downstairs.” James could swear he saw a faint blush on his cheeks.
Euphemia beamed at him. “I have heard so much about you, Regulus. Say, do you like pancakes?” "Um. I do. Yes.” Regulus, bless the boy, looked so lost and out of place that it physically hurt James. So he asked him to sit down and made him a cup of coffee, which he preferred black, ironically. Then him and his mother continued with their light chatter, filling the room until Sirius returned.
Sirius finally showed up After a while, complaining about James not having enough hair products, even though Sirius had his own drawer filled with his own hair products.
James gasped dramatically. “Excuse you, my hair looks amazing the way it is and I do not need more hair products”, James responded as everyone began stacking pancakes on their plates.
“Yes, hair looking like a bird has been living in it is the latest fashion in Paris, or so I heard”, Regulus deadpanned.
Sirius giggled. His mother grinned. James felt his stomach do a funny thing.
“You put blueberries in them! I love you so much”, Padfoot exclaimed with a big grin on his face as he bit into the first pancake and went on a long rant about how amazing Euphemia’s cooking skills were.
James couldn’t really focus for the rest of the meal.
You see, a lot of people have told James he was great. Exceptional. Amazing. Hot, sometimes.
But not a single person has ever, ever told him his hair looked shitty. And it made James feel all weird. Not bad, like you would expect but… giddy.
What the hell.
That was something he would think about later. Definitely not now, because he just volunteered to give Regulus a tour of the house while Sirius helped his mother wash the dishes.
This could be an interesting summer.