James woke up with a blaring headache. His arms were covered in bruises, and his eyes were bloodshot. He stood up from his rickety bed.
“Sirius?”
He looked around his room. Rubbing his eyes as he stood, he became increasingly confused. He knew Sirius had fallen asleep with him last night, on account of it being the anniversary of him running away. He turned on the light and found a note, drenched in blood. James wretched at the thought of touching it, but he did it nonetheless.
Dear James Potter,
We have your flatmate, Sirius Black. Though he did put up a fight, we have him in a facility not too far from here. We know he was working with you, and helping you protect your identity as Spider-Man. This is your warning. If you want him back, you will stop fighting and reveal to the world who you are. Otherwise, he will be tortured, and then killed. You have two weeks. Don’t even think about trying to find us.
Signed,
Tom
James let out a blood curdling scream. Tears streamed down his face, hot and heavy, as he struggled to call Remus.
“James, what the hell, it’s 3 in the morning.”
“They took him. The guy that we’ve been after for killing all those innocent people. They took him.”
James couldn’t breathe. Sirius was like a brother to him. What were they going to do to him? James wasn’t sure, but he was going to kill Tom if it was the last thing he did.
“James, take a deep breath. Who did they take?”
“Sirius!” James screamed.
James was in a full hysteria now. His breathing was ragged, and he couldn’t see too well. He slid down onto the floor.
“James, I’m coming. Breathe with me, okay?”
James followed Remus’s count, though he wasn’t sure why he thought it would help. A period of time passed, and suddenly, a pair of hands was grabbing him.
“James, come on, I need you to tell me what happened. We will find him. We have to,” Remus’s voice cracked.
“We were trying to find out who he was. Tom, I mean. We were so close, but then I was out today and got my ass kicked by some gang. They got away, and I swung home. Siri was already in my bed, so I just came in and slept near him. He needs it sometimes, you know? The touch. Says it makes him feel human. I woke up and he was gone. It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t dragged you guys into helping me, this never would have happened.”
Remus held him. James cried into him until his voice was hoarse and his eyes were puffy and red.
“We will find him. And when we do, I’m going to kill this ‘Tom’ guy,” Remus said.
James fell asleep there. Crying into the arms of Remus Lupin. The next morning felt like hell for the both of them. Remus was trying to stay strong for James, but he was ready to cry himself. When Remus left to go to work, James immediately suited up. He swung around the city, avoiding all the busy roads. He finally stopped across the street from a small hole in the wall cafe. He smiled once he saw the barista. Before he could blink, five armed men started shooting at the barista. James cursed aloud before swinging down into the shop.
“Regulus! Come here, under the table.”
The barista glanced up, and then gasped at where the voice was coming from. He followed James, both of them trying to avoid getting shot.
“How do you know my name?”
“Your brother and I are acquainted.”
James' spidey-sense went off then, and he felt the bullet start to whiz closer to Regulus. He shoved him down to the ground, the bullet going into James’s shoulder. James grunted, his left arm being completely useless. He tapped his earpiece, hearing the connection ding.
“Remus. Need. Backup. Regulus.”
“Oh, shit! Fuck, PETE WE GOTTA GO! Where, at the coffee shop?”
James then felt the world start to blur together. He saw Regulus come over him, shaking him to get up.
“Regulus, I need you to do something for me. This is going to save us, so listen very carefully.”
James winced.
“What, anything?”
“Are we hidden?”
“Yes, well enough.”
“Quickly take my mask off, take the earpiece out of my ear. You’re going to need to talk to Remus about what is happening. After you have the earpiece, put my mask on.”
“Lupin?”
James nodded. He could feel the black seeping into his vision. Regulus reached up and gently peeled James' mask off.
“James?”
“Hey Reggie.”
James coughed. His breathing was ragged. He could feel it now, he had lost too much blood.
“I’m scared,” James whispered. “I don’t wanna die.”
“You won’t. I promise. I’m not one to break my promises, Potter.”
Regulus started talking rapidly to Remus. He took off his shirt and quickly tied it around James’s arm. The blood had already started blooming through the stark white. Regulus pressed his hands down on the wound.
“Shit! Remus, you gotta hurry. He’s gonna pass out!”
“Don’t be worried, Reg. Smile. Please, just smile. You’re so pretty when you smile. Please.”
Regulus dragged James onto his legs to hold him closer. James started to close his eyes.
“Remus, come on.”
That was the last thing James heard. The pain was too much. He smiled at Regulus and closed his eyes.
Regulus was pacing back and forth in front of the hospital bed. James hadn’t woken up. It’s been six hours since the fight. Six hours since he found out his lifelong idol was James Potter. Six hours since James told him to smile. Six hours since James called him pretty. Regulus had not been focusing on that. If he had been, he might have combusted. He sat in the chair next to James, inspecting his injuries. His arm was in a wrap. Regulus ran his eyes up James’s chest. He knew it was a stupid idea, but James was fit, and this might be the only time he got to see him. His eyelashes fluttered before he opened his eyes. Regulus jumped slightly in his chair.
“Siri? You’re back,” James rasped.
“Wrong brother.”
James seemed to sober quickly.
“Reg! Are you okay? Did you get hit? Do you know about Sirius?”
“Hey, your savior complex is showing. You’re the one who got shot. And yes, Remus filled me in on Sirius. We’re going to find him.”
James smiled crazily. He sat up a bit, running his good hand through his hair. He reached for his glasses and put them haphazardly on his face.
“C’mere.”
“Why?”
“I don’t bite, just come over here.”
Regulus steadied his breathing before walking slowly to James.
“I do though,” Regulus retorted before thinking.
James flashed him that beautiful smile. James raised his hand and grabbed Regulus’ face. He inspected it for a minute before Regulus grabbed his wrist.
“What, and I can’t express this enough, the everliving fuck are you doing?”
“You look like Sirius, but your eyes are different. Your eyes are blue-ier. They look like ice. No, like rain clouds. They are so pretty. And your hair, it's obviously shorter, but it's also straighter. But you look very similar, especially without my glasses.”
James dropped his hand, giving Regulus a small smile.
“You need to sleep. Go to bed.”
“Stay.”
Regulus stopped walking. Stay? Why would James want him to stay? He wasn’t arguing though. He sat down at the foot of James’ bed. James rubbed his eyes, and a minute later, closed them. Regulus stood up and gently took off James’ glasses and shut off the light. James was breathing heavily as he fell deeper into sleep.
“Goodnight, Reg,” James mumbled.
Regulus felt himself smile at James in spite of himself. Why he wanted Regulus to stay was beyond him. However, he wasn’t going to let James take back his offer. He went and sat in the chair beside James’s bed, allowing himself to fall into a fitful sleep. When he woke, he saw James eyes staring at him from the bed.
“What. Why are you staring at me?”
“What were you dreaming about?”
You. I only ever dream of you.
“Nothing. I don’t dream.”
“You were talking. You said my name. What were you dreaming about?”
“Hmm, guess I was dreaming about today.”
Regulus’ face burned with the lie. He cleared his throat.
“How do you feel?”
“Alright. My arm feels a bit better.”
“So, can we talk about the fact that you’re literally spiderman?”
James dropped his eyes.
“It happened when I was 16. Sirius was the first to know, then Remus and Peter walked in. A few of the girls suspect it, and Marlene knows because of missions. She’s always in the background of all of my work. I don’t know who Tom is, but we’ve been after him for months.”
“Sorry, you mean to tell me that when Sirius and I ran away, you were spiderman. I was living in the same house as you, and you were spiderman?!?”
James nodded shyly. Regulus thought about when they ran away. He tried to say no to Sirius, but Sirius made him. In the end, Regulus was more than happy, and part of that had to do with James. He hated James in the beginning because he didn’t want to run, even though he hated his life. However, that hatred quickly became something more when summer hit and all of a sudden, James didn’t wear his shirt to swim, and Regulus was left blushing at the other end of the pool. He moved away the next year to Dorcas’ house. He didn’t think he could put up with the torment for another two years. When he moved out, his contact with James diminished quickly. He still hung out with his brother, and sometimes James would tag along. When he did, Regulus was reminded of his very strong attraction to him. Regulus’s thoughts were interrupted by James shaking his arm.
“What?”
“You zoned out or something. I said your name like three times.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
Regulus cleared his throat and stepped away from James’ hand.
“Erm. I have to go. Work and all that.”
“Oh, okay. I’m getting discharged later today. Sorry, that wasn’t important. I’ll see you later. Have fun.”
Regulus nodded and quickly walked out of the room, stumbling when James smiled at him again. God, being a lovesick fool was really getting old. Regulus drove to work silently. When the day ended, he tried to keep James off his mind. He went to the bar next to his office and ordered a shot of tequila. When that didn’t do anything, he ordered two more. The bartender cut him off there, saying something idiodic about not being able to serve him more than that in the span of five minutes. When the alcohol started to hit, he sat down and stared at the wall. A man came and sat next to him and tried to start a conversation.
“Hey, did it hurt? When you fell from heaven? What's your name?”
“What. Why are you talking to me?”
“Because, baby. You’re hot.”
Just then, James’s number popped up on his phone. He answered and James asked where he was. Regulus asked why and James just asked again. Regulus told him and then hung up the phone. The man was still sitting next to him. Why was he still there? Regulus got up to leave when the man grabbed his wrist. Regulus tried to pull off, but before he could, the man pulled his wrist with an unforeseen force. Regulus landed much closer than he would have liked. The man ran his other hand through Regulus’s hair.
“Stop. Let me go.”
“Hmm, no.”
“I wouldn’t say that if I were you,” Regulus heard a familiar voice say.
He picked his head up and saw a very spiderman-ifed James. The man picked his hand off of regulus and stalked off. Regulus got up shakily and started to walk away.
“Wait! Come with me. We need to talk.”
“About?”
“Sirius.”
Regulus’ body went still. He followed James out of the bar and gasped when James grabbed him around the waist.
“My apartment is across town. Mind if we swing?”
Regulus minded very much, but not in any way that mattered. He shook his head.
“Good. Put your arms around my neck, not too tight though. I’m going to hold your waist with one hand and swing with the other. If you need a break, just tug on my hair and we will land somewhere.”
Regulus put his hands around his neck. He kept his mouth closed when James started to swing so he wouldn’t show his joy. Regulus felt James' mouth near his ear and his skin started to tingle.
“How much did you drink? You smell like tequila.”
“A few shots.”
Regulus was watching the city zip by when his head started to hurt. He reached up and gave James’s hair a sharp tug. James made a sound in the back of his throat, so low that Regulus almost missed it. Almost. They landed on the top of a building.
“Are you okay?”
“Mhm. Headache. Needed a break.”
They sat down next to each other, legs dangling off the top of the building. The sun had started to set slowly. Regulus turned to look at James. He had his mask in his hands. The sun was making his skin golden, highlighting the freckles across his face. His hair looked lighter than usual, but the most beautiful thing was his eyes. They looked bright green in this light, having small flecks of gold in them. When Regulus decided he was content, James lifted him up again and they were off. They got to a small apartment, which Regulus assumed was James’. They walked in and James gasped.
Remus was on the ground with an arrow in his arm.