There is Sirius, kissing Emmeline Vance.
Remus has been looking for him. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so hopeful that Sirius would actually be able to accept his feelings for a boy as naturally as he did, people don't usually accept it and live with it, and if they do it can take years, and Remus doesn't think that he can bear the pain of watching Sirius snog girls in public and only snog him back in the dark, without even being willing to speak about the feelings that drove them to snog and share an actual intimate moment in the first place.
Remus knows that he should have maybe spoken to Sirius after kissing him instead of letting him change the topic, but it's not like he can just pull him from Emmeline now, so he does the next most logical thing to do when you get you're heart broken by one of your best mates, and he goes back to his dorm room. He doesn't think that he will be seen again in the party. In his birthday party.
So much for a happy birthday.
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Despite what a lot people seem to think, James Potter is not as oblivious as the others treat him like he is. He notices things. Not like Peter who can usually pick up on peoples mannerisms, or Sirius who can tell the mood of the person in front of him by the set of his jaw or how tight his smile seems to be, or even like Remus, who can usually pick up on all those things, and, if it's close to the full moon and his symptoms are particularly powerful, even vaguely tell what people are feeling from the way they smell. No, James Potter does not have the ability to really observe all those things except for when it came to his close friends. No, James Potter grew up surrounded by love, both from Euphemia Potter, who declared her love for everyone loud and clear, and Fleamont Potter, who prefers to show that love, even if he vocalizes it as much as Euphemia does. James Potter may be oblivious in certain departments, but if there's one thing that he knows how to pick up on, it's love.
With the way things are going, James would be an idiot to not have noticed how his two best friends, one of them practically his brother, look at each other when they think that no one else can see them. James sees the way that Remus looks at Sirius, like he's infatuated with him, and he doesn't miss the way that Sirius looks at Remus, like he hung the stars and the moon.
Another thing that James noticed is how they keep having increased time alone together, which isn't to say they've been doing anything, because James knows that Sirius would never risk it, exactly like he knows that Moony would wait for Sirius to be ready before he does anything.
And they have to be doing progress, because Sirius didn't have a casual fling in a while, and even though he might complain that he can't find anyone decent, James knows in his heart of hearts that Sirius is slowly trying to come to terms with the fact that he likes Remus.
Which is why it came as a shock to him when saw Sirius kissing Emmeline Vance in the middle of Moony's birthday party, knowing damn well that Remus would be looking for him, and when James turns to look for Moony and sees him looking Sirius, who's snogging Emmeline, with a sad look in his eyes, all James can do is watch him leave to go upstairs to the dorm.
The moment Remus is gone around the corner, James turns back to look at Sirius, who's looking at the stairs as if he might just follow Moony, and James is nothing if not first and foremost an amazing mate, so he turns and walks to the direction of the stairs, and when he reaches them and catches Sirius's eyes, he makes sure to convey his disappointment with his eyes alone, which seems to work as Sirius widens his eyes and then lowers his gaze, which just so happens to land on Vance who is very much still in his arms.
Having seen quite enough James turns back and begins his clime up the stairs, hoping to catch Remus before he got lost in his thoughts of self blaming that James is so sure he's going to start having if he isn't stopped before he even begins.
So much for a fun happy birthday party.
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"There he is." is the first that James can think of when he sees Moony just sitting there on his bed, looking at the opposite side of the room. Looking at Padfoot's bed.
James doesn't know what hurts more, the look that Moony has in his eyes as he looks at Padfoot's bed, or the look he turns onto James, one that is a mix of surprise, as if he didn't expect anyone to come after him, a little of hesitance, as if James would ever do something to make Moony uncomfortable, not on purpose, at least, and, lastly, a lot of fucking heartbreak. It breaks James's heart in return, to see one of his best mates hurting like this, one of the kindest people James has ever met.
"Hey Moony"
He say it quietly and tries to smile a little smile at him, but Remus just looks back at him for a minute, then turns and lays down to stare at the ceiling instead, as if it holds all the answers to his problems.
"You know, then?" is the first thing that Moony actually says back.
He sounds small, and James doesn't like that one bit. That solidifies his resolve, right then and there. To make sure that Moony is ok, if only for now, at least.
"Scootch over, Moony."
James walks over and lays downs in the little space that Remus left for him, making to sure to stay on his side so that he can actually see Moony while he talks to him, otherwise James doesn't think that he'll be able to do anything to make him feel better.
Remus only turns on his side to look at him once James has stopped moving, and he smiles a little at Moony, this time getting a small smile in return, barely a twitch in the corner of the mouth, really, but James is surprised he got anything at all in return, so he allows himself to smile a little bigger.
His happiness is short-lived, and James soon sobers up again to answer Moony's question,
"I know. But I promise you Moony, I won't say anything unless you want me to."
James sounded so earnest and sincere that Remus couldn't even panic about the fact that he knew. He could only give James a little twitch of his mouth, and yet he closed his eyes, breathing a little easier at the fact that James accepted him as he was, even with the fact he was in love with one of their best friends, practically James's brother at this point.
Not for the first time, Remus is grateful for James Potter, more than he could ever explain.
Maybe that's why, sloshed as he is, Remus surges forward and cuddles up into James like Moony sometimes does to Prongs.
James is only mildly surprised at the action, since Moony has always been either a cuddly drunk or an absolute menace, so he just smiles into Remus's hair and brings his hand up to run it through Remus's hair, softly running his hand through it and detangling the looks when his fingers would catch on them.
At some point James had began to hum softly while continuing to pet Remus softly, listening to his breathing slowly soften as he relaxed more and more, bringing his hands to wrap around James and snuggle up to his chest, sliding to down the bed to fit himself better, before breathing out a soft sigh.
James, for the life of him, couldn't fathom why Sirius would ever give up Moony for anyone else. He himself would proudly proclaim that he was dating Moony if he ever did. James blushed at the mental image, before shaking his head to clear it and nuzzling his face into Remus's soft locks, sighing softly into them himself.
"Prongs?" The voice was so soft that James almost didn't hear it, but nonetheless, James hummed softly, indicating Remus to continue, "Thank you. I don't know what I would do without you, probably drown in my own heartbreak." Remus chucked softly, a sad sound that had James tightening his hold on him, pushing him more into the embrace, "It's a good thing that you'll never have to find out then. Because I'll always be there for you Moony, no matter what, who or where." Remus nodded his head before looking up at James from his chest, smiling at him a real, genuine, happy smile, before snuggling up to him again, breathing softly and relaxing completely.
James could feel his heart skipping a beat, beating in time with Remus's heart, which he could feel with how close they were to each other.
James reclaimed his previous position, his face in Moony's hair and his hands running through the rest, while Remus slowly brough a hand up to James's hair to pet him softly, the motion slowing down as Remus began to fall asleep, James not far behind him, the warmth surrounding him spreading through his entire body.
.
.
.
.
Later, when James sits Remus down to talk to him, he will remember this moment, and they'll talk about it, and maybe, just maybe, they'll decide to try to do something about it, but above all, they'll always be there for each other, no matter what, who or where.