Okay, James never intended to get detention for duelling in the corridors. Especially not detention with his arch-nemesis (Remus said that was an overdramatic name for him but James thought it fit perfectly). He absolutely did not want said detention to be in the forbidden forest. Lines would have been fine, cleaning trophies would have been fine, hell, even doing nothing at all for an hour would have been okay. But going to the forest without his friends to poke around at some boring centaurs? James was tempted to knock himself out to escape that. To make matters worse, it was with Filch. When Slughorn had said that detention would be in the forest, he had expected to be going with Hagrid, but no. Apparently, they had been too lenient before and James and Crouch needed to ‘learn their lesson properly’, which James thought was bullshit.
It had all been Crouch’s fault, of course. If he hadn’t shoved James in their first year, James would never have decided to start a rivalry and they would never have fought in the corridors in the first place. That was quite possibly a bit of a stretch but James didn’t really care, any chance to blame something on Crouch, he would take without hesitation.
Grumpily, he crossed his arms and dragged his feet through the leaves on the forest ground, choosing to stay a few paces behind Filch, but still in front of Crouch. Asserting dominance or whatever.
After what felt like miles of walking, Filch turned around. “Well then, kiddies. Have fun, I’ll see you in three hours” He started waking off and Crouch threw his arms up and yelled after him.
“What is that supposed to mean? You aren’t allowed to do that! It’s against every rule! You can’t leave us here, you slimy old gi-”
Filch whirled around, a sinister grin spread across his features. “If you’re allowed to break the rules, why can't I, eh? Stop complaining and deal with it. Would you really like another detention, Junior?”
Croup snarled and turned around, stalking over to a tree and slumping down onto the floor. Filch cackled and left, the light of the lamp going with him. James cursed himself for not sneaking Pete’s wand with him to use while his was confiscated. It would have helped with the light and the cold. The forest was freezing. Turning into his animagus form would likely have helped but he couldn’t risk Crouch telling anyone.
James didn’t recognise the part of the woods they were in, which was slightly concerning. He had spent three years prancing around these woods once every month and still had no clue where Filch had taken them. James sat himself down opposite his detention buddy, as Remus had called him when James told them all about his detention. There was no point trying to escape, they would likely just get even more lost and end up getting another detention for wandering off.
James ended up picking up various sticks and stones from the ground, tossing them up in the air and catching them, trying to keep himself occupied so he forgot about the way the cold was slowly creeping up his fingers and toes, having already numbed his nose and ears. One of the stones ended up going a little higher than the others, so when James went to catch it, it bounced right off his hand and hit Crouch in the stomach.
“Ow! You fucking knob!” James suddenly felt a small stone hitting his head with ridiculous force.
“It wasn't on purpose!” He spat back.
They fell back into a tense silence, the wind winding around them viciously. They could only just see each other’s faces through the dark, thanks to the faint light of the moon and stars. James felt his limbs start to give up, the bitter cold taking them over.
He heard Crouch shuffle around before he spoke, voice sharp and unwelcoming. “Come here.”
James scoffed and curled in on himself. “Why the fuck would I do that?”
“Because, if you haven’t noticed, it’s cold. Now stop talking and get over here before I change my mind. I’m just as unwilling as you, alright?”
James hesitated but stood up anyway. He slowly approached the boy across from him, reminding himself to stay wary all the while. He shouldn’t be this trusting of somebody he had been fighting for seven years. But he was.
He sat down slowly, waiting to be punched in the face, but he wasn’t. Barty just moved closer and silently wrapped his arms around James’ waist, pulling him close and not saying a word.
After a few minutes, James decided that it was a bit awkward. “So, what would you normally be doing around now?”
Barty frowned. “Why are you being nice to me?”
“I’m not!” James instantly assured him, leaning away from him a little but ultimately flopping back into the Slytherin’s grasp, desperate for warmth. “I would just rather suffer these three hours with some light conversation to help it go quicker. This is already awkward enough.”
“If it’s so awkward, why don’t you just go back over there?” He spat, though he didn’t release James from his arms, so James guessed he didn’t really want him to go back. Gross. Kind of…well…no, no James, not the time. You can’t just start fawning over your rival when he has you curled up in his arms, that’s ridiculous. James would never. Absolutely not. Never ever.
“If you must know, I would probably be in the common room, talking to Mariah.”
James nodded, sinking further into Barty’s grasp. “She seems nice,” He muttered.
“I thought that everyone who associated with me was a snivelling snake unworthy of human rights? Or was that just what you thought two years ago?”
Sighing, James let one of his hands travel to Barty’s, lightly messing with the rings he wore on each finger, not even realising what he was doing. James from five minutes ago would have slapped him for doing it but he didn’t really care, it was comforting. Barty’s hands were cold, he noted, as he absentmindedly pressed their palms together, comparing the sizes of their hands.
“I don’t know. Maybe Akesse is actually really nice and has just been brainwashed to be friends with you.”
Barty laughed and James felt his face heat up. Because Barty had never laughed around him before, not properly. But it felt nice. He found himself smiling too, looking down to hide it. His reputation would be in shambles if news got out that he was smiling around Barty Crouch Jr.
“You really think Mariah would ever be brainwashed by anyone? Somebody could kill her and she’d take the knife from her chest and throw it back at them,” He said, finally, and James did laugh at that; when he realised it, he immediately stopped, but Barty had already heard it by then. He smirked and leaned forward to whisper into James’ ear. “You think I’m funny, Potter?”
“No,” He huffed, just a little too quickly.
“Sure.”
They went quiet again. James eventually spoke, once he got bored of the quiet. “So, you’d be with Akesse?”
Barty nodded.
“You seem to be around each other a lot. She’s always there when we…bump into each other.”
“Well spotted,” Barty mumbled.
“I was just wondering if you two were…y’know…”
Barty laughed again, different to before. “No! Merlin, no. We’re friends, Potter. She literally has two boyfriends, shouldn’t you be aware of that?”
“Why should I know that?”
He hesitated for a second, turning his hand around and linking his fingers with James’. “Nothing. Besides, I like men.”
James froze, his mind racing. Refusing to work properly.
“You’re gay?”
Slowly, Barty removed his hand from James’ clutch, loosening the hold he had around him nervously. “Yes, do you have a problem with that?” He snapped, voice harsher than his body language. Missing the touch already, James reached down to his waist and held Barty’s arms, their forearms perfectly lined up; he left them there for a few seconds, considering moving them back around him but deciding to leave them where they were, not wanting to seem too controlling or come across as cruel and teasing.
“No, no I don’t. Of course I don’t,” He was whispering, resisting the urge to turn around, throw his arms around Barty’s neck and hug him until neither of them could breathe. How did he even end up in this position? “I promise you I don’t. I may not like you but I’m not a fucking git.”
“You don’t like me? That’s new, last week it was hate,” What he said was jokey, but James could still feel the nervousness radiating off of him. So he decided to confess something he had never told anyone before. Something he had never even said into the mirror. Just to reassure the boy he hated. The boy he had once hated.
The boy he- no, he wasn’t going there. He wasn’t going to admit that yet. He’d had a feeling his obsession hadn’t been entirely hatred-fueled for a good while but still didn’t want to juggle the possibility that it was…that which had made him so obsessed. It wasn’t only embarrassing, but confusing.
“I’m gay too,” He whispered, the cold wind between them almost swallowing the words up as they left his lips.
“Okay,” Was the response he got.
They went back to silence. It was so dark that James couldn’t see any further than his hands. It was still cold but he was significantly warmer thanks to Barty’s arms gently looped sound his waist, still not as tight as they had been before. Merin, James missed it already.
Deciding it was better to be brave and stupid than miserable and logical, he let his hand find Barty’s once more, lacing their fingers together with no resistance whatsoever from Barty and bringing them up to his face so he could see them, admiring the layers of silver climbing up the Slytherin’s fingers. He heard Barty’s breathing grow heavy as James lifted his other hand to run his finger around each ring, fiddling with the crystals and silver detailing on each one.
“You have a lot of rings.”
“Well spotted,” Barty whispered, slowly moving his head forward to lean it on James’ shoulder and watch his hands move in the moonlight.
James laughed lightly, his breath catching when Barty moved his chin further up James’ shoulder so he could feel his breath gliding past his neck. He cleared his throat and let their intertwined hands fall down to his lap, not letting go. “They’re very pretty,” He commented.
“Hm?” When he hummed, Barty sounded tired, relaxed. It made James’ stomach jump.
“Yeah,” He choked out, voice breathy and nervous.
He felt Barty smile against his neck. “Thanks. I’m glad you appreciate them, they cost me hundreds.”
“Really?” James looked back down at their hands, only seeing a few flickers of silver.
He nodded, still smiling against James’ neck. “Yeah, my father told me they were tack so I bought more,” James laughed, leaning into him and bringing their hands into his chest. “Typical me. He stopped bothering after a while but I kept buying more rings,” He paused. “In the hopes that you would notice and ask me about them,” He finished, quieter than before. James smiled widely and used his thumb to mess with a gold ring on his thumb with a large, jagged, red carnelian stone in the middle.
“Me?”
“Mhm.”
James tilted his head and brushed his thumb against the stone. “This one’s different to the other ones. It’s the only gold one you have.”
“Yeah. I usually stick to a certain style so they don't clash.”
“Then why do you have this one? Was it a gift or…?”
“You’re a bit nosy today, aren’t you?” He quipped back.
“I thought you wanted me to ask you about them?”
“I do,” Barty replied. “I was joking, sweetheart,” And, in that moment, James felt more special than he ever had before in eighteen years of life. Usually, Barty called him ‘twat’, ‘swine’ and, on one occasion, a ‘big-headed, pig-faced, entitled attention-whore’, never sweetheart. Not even jokingly. “I bought it because it reminds me of somebody I like.”
“Oh?” James felt a lump in his throat.
“Yeah.”
“Not Akesse, I assume?”
Barty snorted, leaning forward, into James’ back and burying his face in James’ shoulder, like he had forgotten they were supposed to hate each other. James couldn’t really talk, though, given how he had been acting the whole time.
“No,” He chuckled. “Not Ria.”
“Good.”
Barty squeezed James’ hand. “Why good?”
“Because she has two boyfriends,” He deadpanned, before the both of them started to laugh. “And you’re gay.”
“You make very convincing points.”
James hesitated for a moment. “We’re supposed to hate each other.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want to anymore.”
“Me neither.”
They were frozen still for a beat. Then James let go of Barty’s hand and turned around so they were facing each other. Well, he assumed they must be, the moon had just been covered by a cloud, cutting out the little light they still had.
“I can’t see you.” He whispered. He felt Barty lean back and heard a snap, followed by the noise of a spark. To the left was a small, glowing light. He gaped at it in shock. “You can do wandless magic?”
“Yeah. I could have done it before but that wouldn’t have been as fun.”
When James turned to face forwards again, he was met with a huge grin and sparkling eyes. “Hi,” He whispered, awed.
“Hey,” Barty laughed back, reaching out to take James’ face in his hands. James laughed more, his eyes flickering over Barty’s face as his mouth remained partially open, the corners of his lips slightly turned up. Barty sighed and tugged him closer. “Just come here already, you big sop.”
James rolled his eyes but leaned in anyway, resting their foreheads heads together. “I was taking in the view.”
“There will be plenty of time for that tomorrow.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Barty closed his eyes and let his hands run down to James’ shoulders softly. “Do you not usually hunt me down before class every day to point and laugh?” James was silent. “What did you think I was implying?”
“Nothing.”
James tried to distract him by raising a hand and placing it at the back of Barty’s neck and moving his face closer by less than an inch.
“If I’d have known a carnelian ring would get you this close to me, I’d have bought one years ago.”
“Technically, we’ve been closer than this before. That time in fourth year when I got all in your face because you did better than me in potions.”
Barty hummed. “Well, I suppose we’ll have to change that, then, won’t we?”
“Are you asking me to kiss you?”
“I don’t know, Potter, am I?”
“Answer the fucking question.” He groaned.
“Fine, I am. I am asking you to kiss me, James.”
With that, James shuffled closer and started to lean in, his mind clouding over entirely. He could feel Barty’s breath against his lips, stunted and shallow. He pulled himself together and leaned in to close the gap between them.
Only to be met by air and the feeling of something sharp on his cheek. Teeth. Barty had bitten him, just like an untrained puppy. He pulled back, wiping his face and fake-gagging.
“What the fuck was that?”
Barty leaned back smugly. “My way of showing affection.”
James pulled a face and rubbed at the red mark on his face. “Bloody freak.”
“If you don’t shut up, I’ll bite you again.”
“I hate you.”
“I hate you too,” Barty murmured, contradicting himself as he let his arms fall onto James’ shoulders, smiling at him with that mischievous glint in his eyes.
“Can you kiss me properly?” He asked. “Please.”
And he did.
And it should have felt wrong, kissing the boy he had hated for so long. But with Barty’s hands in his hair and his lips on his, James’ mind didn’t let him care.
“Why are you laughing?” Barty asked as they broke apart.
James shook his head as he snorted. “It’s this, it’s just so weird, isn’t it?” At Barty’s confused expression, he grabbed his arms and rested their foreheads together again, their noses touching. “Not in a bad way. Of course not. I’m happy too, it’s just so strange, isn’t it?” Barty didn’t reply. “I mean…we’ve been hunting each other down and making snarky comments for seven years and now this, it feels so out of the blue. I suppose I liked you all along, or at least most of the way, but I still never expected this. Did you?”
“No, I always kind of hoped for it…”
“Yeah?” James beamed.
“Yeah, but I never thought it would happen. Ever since I bumped into you in our first week, you made it quite clear what you thought about me and I quickly realised that the only attention you ever gave me was when you were insulting me, so I decided to take whatever I could get and fight back. I thought it would always be like that.”
“Well, you were wrong.”
“I can see that, love.”
James’ breath caught and Barty started to panic.
“Was that the wrong thing to say? Did that make you uncomfortable? I’m sorry, was it too soon?”
James frowned and rubbed Barty’s cheek with his thumb to help calm him down. “Too soon? It’s been seven years, Barty, if I’m perfectly honest with you, I think it’s a bit overdue, babe.”
“Stop, I’ll start blushing if you do that.”
James got a sudden urge to wind him up. “Do what, babe?” Barty glared at him. “Why are you angry, babe? Tell me what’s wrong, babe. Come, on b-”
“James Potter, I will bite you again if you do not stop.”
James paused, then sighed and turned back around, leaning back against Barty’s chest, defeated. “I’m only stopping because I know you’ll actually do it.”
“You’re a fast learner, sweetheart. Well done,” He mused. “Little do you know, I’m going to bite you anyway.”
In the time it took James to register what had been said, Barty had already latched himself onto his arm, leaving his teeth there for a solid ten seconds.
“You’re actually a demon!” James squawked, flapping his arm around frantically. “Why are you like this, you absolute savage!”
“Oi! You should feel honoured, thank you. I only bite the people I love or like a great deal, so you’re special.”
“You love me?” James asked with a smirk.
“Or like a great deal, is what I said, is it not?”
“Yeah but you said love first, so I’ll pick that one.”
“You’re actually an idiot. Literally just this morning, you would have rather punched me than come anywhere near me and now you’re deciding that I love you.”
James shrugged and reached down to grab Barty’s hand again. “I know. It’s my signature stupidity, I’d be boring without it.”
Barty laughed and pressed a firm kiss into James’ hair, lingering for a second. “You’re not joking, are you? You’re not…doing all this to bully me or anything?”
James frowned and sat up. He turned to face Barty and kissed both of his cheeks, then his nose, then his forehead, and finally his lips. “I promise. I wouldn’t…do you really think I would do something like that?” He was hurt, he had to admit. He knew he could be cruel, but he didn’t expect anyone to think he would do something so cold and callous. Barty didn’t respond. “Look. I know I’ve been a right arse over the years, okay? I’ve been mean and nasty and downright revolting but please trust me. You don’t know how long I have wanted this for. I mean, neither do I, but that’s beside the point. I do. Want this, I mean, You. I want you.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll prove it too! We’re gonna go on a date. A proper date. To Hogsmeade, next Saturday. I’ll plan it all out and prove to you that I am completely obsessed with you, babe.”
Barty rolled his eyes and covered James’ face with his hand, pushing him back gently. “I told you to stop calling me that.”
“And you’re avoiding my proposition.”
He shrugged and leaned back against the tree. “I don’t know, James. You really don’t have to do that for me.”
“No,” He agreed. “But I want to. So,” He grinned. “What do you say?”
“Fine. I’ll go on a date with you,” He grumbled, hiding a smile.
James squealed and launched himself at Barty, practically depriving his lungs of oxygen and then kissing him with just as much enthusiasm. They both relaxed and enjoyed each other’s touch, shivering as a cold gust of wind struck at them through the trees.
“I can’t believe this, it’s actually perfect! This is the best day in human history! I think I could die!”
Barty laughed and shook his head in disbelief. He let James kiss every inch of his face, not even considering stopping him. James continues to babble in between kisses.
“Calm down, Jamie, you’ll wake up the creepy creatures that live here and get us both killed, then we’ll never be able to go on that date.”
“You called me Jamie.”
“I tell you that we’re going to be brutally murdered and all you can focus on is the fact I called you a nickname?”
“We’ll be fine. Call me that again, I like it.”
“Even more than the name ‘Scheming, obnoxious, Gryffindor pillock’?”
“It’s a close one.”
They both laughed once again. It was becoming quite common. James rather liked it.
“Babe?” James asked, getting no response. “Fine, Barty?”
“Yes?”
“Now we’re like…officially dating and all-“
“We’re technically not. We haven’t been on a date and have only been able to tolerate each other for…I don’t know, less than an hour? We still have time to change our minds before we do anything.”
“Shut up. Now we’re officially dating, I think you need to tell me who Akesse is seeing because you made it sound like I know one of them.”
“I’m afraid that is top secret information, my love. I can’t go telling you that.”
James groaned and dramatically slumped down onto the floor, getting sticks caught up in his hair. “What’s the point of arranging a date with you if you’re not going to tell me everyone’s secrets?”
“You get to kiss me?” Barty offered.
“Hmm, you have a good point,” He held out his hand to drag Barty down to the ground with him, their lips meeting gently.
“I’m so tired,” James heard Barty mutter.
In response, James pulled him closer to him and whispered into his ear. “Go to sleep. We probably still have over two hours anyway. I’ll keep you warm and make sure nothing gets us.”
“But what if I wake up and you’re not here? What if it’s all a dream? Even worse, what if Filch is watching us huddle for warmth?”
“I won’t leave. I promise, it’s not a dream or prank, I’ll still be here. And I’ll wake you before Filch gets back. Promise.”
“Okay. I trust you.”
James smiled and pulled Barty against his chest, the both of them now lying on the cold muddy ground.
“Good night, babe.”
“Shut up.”
Barty woke up to the sound of shouting. It didn’t sound like James. Oh, it was McGonagall. Wait…oh shit, it was McGonagall. He sat up quickly, noting how James was already gone, sat with his back against the tree opposite, just like he had been the night before, when Barty was still yet to call him over.
“I knew we shouldn’t let that man near children!” She shrieked, tossing James and Barty blankets from thin air.
“Minerva, he’s an extremely important member of st-“
“He left two students unattended in the forest with no wands or coats! All night, Albus! All night! They ended up passing out!”
“Professor, it’s fine. Really. We’re okay, can I just go to c-“ James tried to interject.
She snapped her head round and flared at James sharply. “No, Mr Potter, you may not go to class. You’ve just almost frozen to de-“
“Yes, you boys can make your way back to class. We’ll deal with this accordingly.”
James stood up, taking his blanket with him and starting to walk back up to the castle, hoping Barty would follow him.
“Go to the hospital wing first, Potter! I’m pretty sure Mr Crouch will be fine but if anything feels wrong, see madam Pomfrey immediately, do you understand?”
“Yes, Professor,” they drawled as they made their way back through the forest, guided by Hagrid.
When they were most of the way out of the forest, James silently laced his and Barty’s fingers together, rubbing his rings with his thumb. Neither of them spoke, perfectly content with the silence and still taking in how real everything had been.
Hagrid went back into his hut and the two continued back up to the castle until they got to the main entrance. They both turned to face each other.
“So, I suppose I’ll be seeing you at lunch when you choose to bombard me with boiled eggs?”
James smiled sadly. “No, you won’t. I’m not going to do that anymore.”
“But won’t that look suspicious?”
“No,” James decided. “I’ll announce that I’m becoming a better person, how about that?”
“Okay. When will I see you, then?”
James grinned from ear to ear. “How about tonight? In the Slytherin dorms.”
“How will you get in?”
“I have my ways.”
“Sure. I’ll see you later, then?”
“Yeah,” James smiled. They stood awkwardly. “Bye, Barty.”
“Goodbye, love.”
And they went their separate ways.