#Sirius and James are on the same hockey team

[antsrust]

Hockey Player!James x Figure Skater!Regulus

These took me so long but I absolutely love how they turned out. I have a whole fic about them planned out in my head but I cannot be bothered to actually write it lol

[fourmoony]

heyyy read you're looking for requests so here's one! james coming from hockey practice (i love hockey player james) and you tell him that a guy from uni has been hitting on you and stuf. he doesn't get mad just queasy, but then he needs reassurance too!

thanks for requesting, angel!

cw: insecurities, language, unwanted advances

1.4k, modern au, ice hockey James

The tell-tale sound of James' bag being abandoned haphazardly by the door alerts you to his presence. The door clicks shut soon after, followed by a heavy sigh. He's likely exhausted - always is after practice, especially if he and Sirius get caught mouthing off and are punished with bag skating.

James rounds the corner into the living room at the same time you pause your show and sit up to greet him. He doesn't acknowledge your abandoned plate from dinner or the pile of unfolded washing on the arm chair to his left. Instead, he gives you a tired smile and collapses into a heap beside you on the sofa. "Hi, bug." He mumbles, chin tucked into the neckline of his hoodie. Exhaustion seeps from his voice.

"Hi, handsome." You soothe, hand reaching out to toy with the curls at the nape of your boyfriend's neck. They're still damp from his post-practice shower, the smell of his body wash sweet and heady in your nose. "How was practice?"

He lets out a long suffering sigh, leans into your touch, "Stressful. The team isn't where we need to be for the playoffs. Coach made sure to let us know how angry he is about it."

You hum softly, scoot closer to James on the sofa until you're practically in his lap. James likes touch, he likes the connection, the intimacy, the weight of your body on top of his. You're happy to indulge him, the flowers that your boyfriend brings about your rib cage blossoming as his arm wraps around your middle, hoists you fully onto his lap. "What does he expect, you know? Half of his team graduated out, last year. He only has a couple of you guys left and the rest are freshmen." You try to justify James, but it seems the reminder only further sours his mood.

"Yeah, try telling him that. He thinks everyone is just born to be in the NHL, that these guys should already be up to standard, that they don't need the same exact training and coaching that we got." James' voice is thick with coiling tension, even if his muscles seem to be relaxing under you.

You smooth the baby hairs under your fingers, tilting your head until his eyes meet yours, "You're their captain, baby," You smile, "I bet they'd listen to it a lot better coming from you. They like you, look up to you. You be their coach if coach isn't going to step up."

Your boyfriend smiles, the sun peeking through storm clouds. A glimpse of your Jamie. He leans forwards, lips soft and gentle as he presses them to yours. He hums into the kiss, hands squeezing your hips. "Thanks."

"Anytime, handsome."

"How was your day?" James asks, feet stretching out to sit atop the coffee table.

You'd scold him if you weren't so busy quelling the beating of your heart. Any kiss from James sends you reeling, has done since the first time in freshman year. You don't think you'll ever get over the fact that he's your boyfriend. That he loves you as you love him, that you'll grow old and grey together. It never quite feels real.

"Good. Productive. We have a project due for McGonagall's class on Wednesday so I just worked on that most of the day." You don't feel the need to mention that you pointedly worked alone on your half of the project, but James frowns at your words and you know he's going to ask.

"You worked alone?"

"Yeah." You should probably say more, but James has a shorter fuse than Sirius does in general when it comes to you and you don't feel like unleashing all two hundred pounds of ice-hockey muscle onto the arrogant asshole who won't leave you alone.

James' thumb rubs steady circles into the fat of your thigh, his brows hooked upward in the middle a blatant sign of his confusion, "Your group have left you to do all the work?"

"No," You shake your head, "It was just easier to do my part on my own."

James doesn't say anything, but it's clear that he's waiting for you to go on. You sigh through your nose, head falling to rest on your boyfriend's shoulder, "One of the guys in my group has been hitting on me pretty regularly."

"What?" James asks around a swallow, voice hoarse. His muscles tense under you, his thumb pausing it's soothing measures on your thigh.

You shrug, "He keeps saying how he'd treat me right, how a 'pretty girl like me' deserves better. It's all bullshit, so I chose to work myself and just send the rest of the group my sections."

"Right."

It's odd, the way your body reacts to a single word as though it were a slap in the face. Your stomach sinks because you realise James isn't angry. He isn't itching to pound the guy's face into the ground and he isn't insisting you allow him to fix the problem, himself. You remove your head from James' shoulder, find him pale faced and distant. He looks lost, nauseous. "Jamie?"

James shrugs, eyes cold, "What?"

"'Right.'? That's all you have to say to that? What's wrong?" You ask, drawing further away the colder the look in James' eyes gets.

"What would you like me to say? That he might be right?" There's a clipped edge to your boyfriend's voice that you've never heard before, that jolts your body into fight or flight mode quicker than you'd care to admit.

You remove yourself from James' lap, confusion evident on your face as you settle to face him on the coffee table. His feet meet the ground with a thud as he moves to stand. Your hand flies out, a firm grip on his knee that begs him not to move. James gives you a sad look as he complies, fidgets with the draw strings on his jogging bottoms. "You think he has a point?" You ask.

James nods, lips pursed, eyes avoiding yours so evidently it angers you.

"Why?"

Your boyfriend shrugs again, tips his head back and lets out a groan, "You know at the end of this year I'm going to be drafted, right? I'm going to have to move across the country, probably, I won't have a choice in the matter and neither will you."

"We've had this argument before, James. I'm going wherever you go. I don't care where it is! It could be fucking Antartica and I'd still go." Your voice sounds less stern than you'd intended, but James softens slightly at your words.

"But you shouldn't have to just pick up your life and move because of me. You deserve someone who can give you stability and all of their time. I can't." James leans forwards until his elbows are resting on his knees, his face so close to yours you can feel his breaths.

It's an age-old argument, one you and James used to have often in the beginning. Before you knew that you wanted James in your life forever, back when he was trying to push you away with everything he had because he didn't want to risk falling in love with you and having to leave you, one day. The argument lessened the longer you were together, decisions made. You'd made up your mind the day James told you he loved you that you'd follow him anywhere, that you'd give up anything and everything to just be with him.

"I don't want anyone else. I don't care where we are in this world, James. I want you. That's all." You reach for him, thumbs swiping under his eyes in steady motions.

He takes a breath, closes his eyes under your touch. "I can't help but feel I'm asking you to sacrifice more than I'm worth."

And that just won't do. You clamber back onto his lap, legs on either side of his hips and chase his eyes. They're dark in the dim light of the living room, a deep brown filled with fear. "You're worth everything, Jamie. Everything." You tell him. And you mean it.

James swallows, nods. His arms wrap around you, pull you to him until he's falling back into the softness of the couch. "I love you." He tells you, vulnerable as you've ever heard him.

Flowers bloom all along the crevices of your rib cage, pull taught until you're so overflowing with love and happiness that all you can think to do is kiss him. He chases your lips when you pull back, a smile toying at the corner of his mouth. "I love you too, Jamie."

"So you're not gonna leave me for that guy in your Psych class?" He asks, a twinkle in his eye that lets you know he's kidding.

You laugh, loud and obnoxious and your boyfriend swallows it with a world-ending kiss.

[theemporium]

would you be willing to write for hockey player!james and he’s superrr cocky and always loves to make reader blush and flustered cause readers usually super confident, calm and collected?

HOCKEY JAMES IS JUST SO🫠 thank you for requesting!🫶🏽

.

When you had seen the position of a social media manager for the university’s hockey team, you didn’t think anything of it other than it would be good money and easy hours to work around your classes. 

However, what you failed to account for was the players on said team. 

You knew the stigma around hockey players, and some of them fit the stereotype perfectly. But a large majority of them were decent guys who were usually quite happy to work with you and make your job a little bit easier each day you were at the rink. 

You bantered with them, you laughed with them. Hell, you might’ve even gone as far to say some of them felt more like friends than acquaintances.

But there was one player in particular that seemed to completely throw you off. 

And that was none other than the captain himself, James Potter. 

“There’s my favourite girl.” 

Your cheeks flushed, your hands gripping the camera in your hand. You contemplated ignoring him, pretending that you hadn’t heard him as you continued to mess around with the settings on your camera. But then you felt a warmth against your back and the smell of his cologne overwhelmed your senses—and you realised it was a pretty stupid thought for even thinking you could ignore him.

“Hi, James,” you murmured half-heartedly as you turned your head to look at him.

His grin widened. “Hi, princess.” 

James Potter was huge. He was huge in the physical sense with his broad shoulders and thick arms and meaty thighs. He was huge in the popular sense with half the campus wrapped around his finger like he is some modern day Greek God worshipped and adored. He was huge in the egotistical sense that had him acting as though he was the best thing that ever walked the Earth. 

And he was a huge pain in your ass that knew how to get under your skin.

“Whatcha doing?” He asked as he leaned over, his chin perched on your shoulder as he watched you flick through the pictures you took from yesterday’s practice. 

“My job,” you stated simply.

“Don’t give me that,” he murmured as he lightly nudged you. “I saw you laughing with Pads earlier. How come I don’t get the same treatment?”

“Because Sirius doesn’t bother me while I’m trying to work,” you replied.

Any other man would have taken the hint and walked away. However, James Potter was far from being any other man.

“You love it when I come over here, don’t lie,” James grinned as he threw an arm over your shoulder. Before you could even realise what he was doing, he was pulling you back against him as his fingers lightly nudged your head to turn and look at him. “C’mon, pretty girl, give me one of those smiles that make my heart all funny.”

You tried to ignore the way your body hummed at his words. “You should go get ready for practice.”

“And leave you here all alone?” James scoffed, a few curls falling in front of his eyes. You resisted the urge to push them away. “That would be a tragedy, princess, someone else could come and swoop you off your feet.” 

You rolled your eyes and hoped your face didn’t look as warm as the rest of you felt. 

“You’re so cute when you get all shy on me,” James murmured as his fingers lightly traced over your cheekbone. “Don’t get me wrong, I love it when you’re feisty. But this is cute, princess. Makes me wanna see how else I can make you blush.”

“James,” you hissed. 

The boy only grinned widely as he stepped back. “Take some hot pictures of me out there, yeah?”

Your lips parted. “I–”

“My ass looks great today, princess! Remember to get my good side!” James added with a wink before he scattered off to the changing rooms, leaving you flustered and blushing and fighting the urge to follow him.

.

[kquil]

JAMES POTTER | KISS CAM PART 2

SUM. : even though yours and james's relationship is public, his jealous streak continues

G. : fluff ; modern au ; ice hockey player james ; girlfriend reader ; viral sports couple ; fans love you together ; protective james ; jealous james ; you're his ; he's yours ; everyone should know this by now ; heated kiss

LENGTH : 1.9k

PART 1

NOT PROOFREAD OR EDITED

Now that your relationship with James was made public, he’s been more open to showing how much he adores you on the rink. You never miss any of his games and he makes a point of visiting your side of the rink during opening warm ups for a kiss through the glass. It’s the same one you gave him when your relationship first became public, where you kiss your fingers and press them against the glass where his lips are directly behind. Being the goof ball he is, James makes a show of puckering his lips and making a kiss sound every single time and, although you feel incredibly embarrassed by it, you just fall even harder for him each time. Your rising fans and shippers are very much the same over your relationship, so supportive and ‘oooo’-ing and ‘ahhh’-ing behind you from every interaction. 

During every intermission as well, James would come over to interact with you through the glass, whether to draw a heart on the divider or just wanting to get your attention with his puppy-love eyes. And all exchanges always end the same way, by James getting pulled away from the back of his collar by his teammates. 

It’s pretty obvious how in love the two of you were with each other and you’ve become a viral sports couple in the media. The fans adore your dynamic, dubbing James the cheeky loverboy and you the shy sweetheart, which were pretty accurate titles. Their support and love for your relationship made you wonder why you both were so worried about becoming public in the first place, granted there were a few bad eggs here and there but the majority accepted your relationship and you couldn’t be happier. However, you do wonder whether the reason why your relationship became public added to that positive reception or not. 

The moment James came over and claimed you as ‘his girl’, it went viral on social media. Many people reported on the incident, made multiple edits of it and some even scoured through videos of past games James played in to try and spot you in the crowd, just to speculate on how long you’ve been together. With all of that, the two of you quickly overtook some of the current famous celebrity couples in popularity. It was quite a romantic way of announcing your relationship, especially when James had the reputation of being the playful goofball of the team through interviews and such; seeing him get aggressive outside of the sport was surprising.

It didn’t help that, on one of your spontaneous dates with James was clipped by Sirius and sent circulating everywhere online. 

James had asked for access to the rink so he could practice some moves in his free time and you tagged along with lunch whilst Sirius and Remus came for company and fun. Soon enough, it turned into you and James just having fun on the ice. You’re a clumsy, first-born fawn on skates but James was always there to steady you with his sturdy frame and strong arms so you had more fun skating than you typically would on your own. The two of you were giggling and joking about, just being the sweet couple that were and being so incredibly cute that Sirius couldn’t find it in himself to tease you two about it. Instead, Sirius merely captured the moment James lifted you in his arms - the typical princess cary - and took you for a lap around the ice on video and posted it on his instagram story. There was no audio to overshadow the laughter you and James shared before you cupped his cheek and kissed him deeply. The lighting, the moment and the chemistry between you two couldn’t be denied and you went viral again. It was a lot of attention, mostly good but some bad too. 

Trust Sirius to give the fans what they want, seeing as how you and James still try to stay private about your relationship on social media. It wasn’t too much of an issue though since he always asked before posting anything, this particular post though, was the only exception. 

Nevertheless, you couldn’t be happier because, now, you can freely support your hard working boyfriend without having to hide under baggy hoodies. Sometimes you dressed up in a cute dress, sometimes you dressed down into one of James’s spare jerseys, proudly showcasing his name and number. It’s a secret but he loves it most when you wear his jersey. It’s also a secret that you wear his jersey whenever you want him to take you home early with no plans of leaving the bed for the night and most of the following morning. He treats you so well. 

In this particular game, you had made something special for James to wish him more luck and comfort. It wasn’t much but you wanted him to have something that’ll remind him you were always close by. You also wanted to give him a real good luck kiss before the pre-game warm ups started. James had expressed to you the night before that his nerves were more sensitive than usual because the team they were up against were quite formidable. He knew it, his team knew it and the fans knew it so the seats were packed for the game tonight - it was nerve-wracking. Tonight would be the perfect time to give him the gift.    

On the way to the locker rooms behind the rink, you were a little unsure of which changing room James was in because you wanted this to be a surprise and didn’t ask for any further information. 

“Oh, hello there,” A man with a black and yellow jersey greets you as he walks out the locker room door you were contemplating knocking on or not, previously unsure of which team was in which but immediately went warm in the cheeks upon realising the mix up, “how did you get down here, pretty lady?” he flirts, making your breath stutter. It didn’t feel right for any other guy to address you so endearingly if they weren’t your James.

“I’m so sorry,” you quickly regain yourself and clutch your small present in your hand, “I mistook which locker room to go to,”

“No worries,” he leans down in an effort to level with your height and meet your eyes more directly, “but I am a little disappointed that you aren’t here to see m-” he’s cut off when you catch a glimpse of James over his shoulder and run the distance to his figure outside the locker room further down the hall. 

“James!” you run into his arms with a grin, completely forgetting the man you had just encountered, who was now in a silent death-stare exchange with your boyfriend. Running up to him, you miss James muttering something under his breath, eyeing the figure past your own. 

“Number five…”

“Look James, I made this for you,” you present the gift, “for good luck,” the excitement in your voice gradually fades with the influence of your bashfulness. 

James kept the opposing player, who had not left yet, in his peripheral as he turned his attention to the soft face towel you were offering him. His heart swells when, in the corner, he spots neat stitches of yours and his initials surrounded by cutely embroidered hearts. You’re really so cute, he can’t fathom how he ever got so lucky. His heart softens further when he takes in your timid but adorable form, looking up at him with curious eyes, gauging his reaction. 

“Thank you, sweetheart,” James says, his voice purring more than usual. He has full confidence that despite the opposing player displaying clear interest in you, never leaving and still eyeing up your form, James knows that you will always be his and him, you. Your focused eyes solely trained on him, your sweet smile only for him to see and your cute way of dressing only for him to undress later, it’s all for him and it’s all he needs to know that you are his forever, “I love it,”

“Reall-” he cuts off your excitement by pressing his lips against yours, throwing your gift to rest on his shoulder so he can have both his hands free to trace your silhouette down to your cute butt and give a possessive squeeze. Like clockwork, you squeal into his lips and give perfect access for his tongue to ravish yours. It’s a very heated and possessive display. James wants everyone who sees you two to know that he’s the only one who can have you like this and you’re the only one who can make him like this.  

Lost in each other, time quickly passes and when you two eventually pull away, the other player is gone. Good riddance, James scoffs in his head, his telling smirk giving away his thoughts. You could see it all. Being his girlfriend, you knew exactly why James behaved like that but you weren’t complaining; you got one hell of a kiss out of it and there was no violence, nobody was hurt. What he needed was for you to anchor him. And you did, by gently taking your gifted face towel off his shoulder and pressing it to the perimeter of his face. 

No words needed to be spoken, James could see it all in your eyes. You knew him too well to let his actions slip past like that, however, knowing that your response was only to reassure him with a tender touch and loving actions rather than berate him, his love for you grew even more. He loves you so much. Soft and with a comforting ache in his chest, James hugs you and lifts you off the floor. He tucks his face into your neck and whispers his apology into your skin.  

“I’m sorry…I didn’t hurt you did I?” he asks, face still nuzzling your neck as you bury your own into his unruly, dark curls. 

“You didn’t hurt me, Jamie…”

“Good…I’m sorry for being so forceful and…possessive,” still in his arms and with your feet off the floor, he gives you a small squeeze.

“...I love you,” was your only reply; your own way of forgiving him.

“God…” James sighs dreamily, pulling back to and press a tender kiss onto your lips, “I love you more,”

You giggle and kiss him again, “I love you most,”

“Impossible,”

When the game finally started that night and you had properly kissed your boyfriend ‘good luck’, James became a prominent instigator on the ice. His plays were more violent and aggressive, especially to a particular player wearing the number five. It was pretty bad and you were getting worried, not just for James but for the other team’s number five. 

Half time comes and James is seen getting a visible talk down from the coach, there was tension in the air but the excitement for the game still too precedence, shaking the air with an infectious vibration. Before the game starts its second half, James makes a quick visit to your front seat for his usual kiss past the glass. This time, however, he wasn’t being a goofball and worried you but his tense figure visibly relaxed after the pseudo kiss, much to your relief. The second half of the game, he wasn’t as violent but became the top scorer, earning point after point after point.

Suffice to say, James’s team was the clear winner and you had much to celebrate his victory on the ice in the bedroom.  

NAVI.

A/N : this was one of my unexpectedly really popular timestamps, thank you all for the support! hopefully you darlings like this addition just as much as the first. i've taken the liberty of adding additional tags who expressed their interest in the first timestamp if you lovelies don't mind

TAGLIST : @fredweasleysjumper @ghostgardn @melinajenkins @astonishment; @until-i-found-you @goodoldfashionedluvergirl @tiensmamains @celestcies @loveltdoveval @inlovewithremusjohnlupin @calums-betch @futurecorps3 @hihihi1112 @simpingforthe80s @diputy @taytaylala12 @its-sappho-biotch @hiya-itsamber @arctvrvs @lilmaymayy @callisto00 @crying-on-the-floor @yrluvjane @neeezza101

[silencesscreams]

thin ice

hockey!james potter x ice skater!reader

summary: you and james go to the same training rink and always see each other. you eventually start talking and flirting, but what you didn’t know was that you’d see him at your best friend’s birthday party and get absolutely hooked.

warnings: fluffly fluff, petnames, f!reader, use of y/n a few times, she/her pronouns referring to r, drinking

pls tell me about any grammar mistakes, english isn’t my first language!!

he sure had a nerve.

first he bumps into you in the hallway and doesn’t even apologize,

and then he asks you to get him some water? what does he think you’re doing there?

“sorry, i don’t work here.” you said, looking at him with your brows furrowed.

“oh, i just thought that you worked here because of the matching uniforms, you know?” you were about to laugh at him but then you noticed the red on his cheeks. was this man blushing?

“i’m sorry, how many times did you ask girls from the skating team for water?” you giggled, and suddenly his face is even redder.

“lets just say i gotta apologize to a lot of girls. i’m james by the way. james potter.” he dropped his gloves as he went to shake your hand. as he bent down to pick them up, you read the name on his jersey. ‘prongs’. you didn’t know what it meant, but it was kind of cute.

“prongs? what does that mean?” you ask, curious about him.

“its my hockey name”

“hockey name? like an artist name?”

“sort of, its nicer to call for prongs than to call for james.” he explained.

“really? 'cause i like james better.” you said, grabbing your bag from the bench you were sat on. “well, gotta go. but i’ll see you later, prongs.”

“i didn’t catch your name!” he shouted as you walked away.

“guess you’ll just have to find out!” you said, smirking at him from afar.

james potter sure was interesting.

as time passed, he eventually figured out your name, but he didn’t really use it. you found out he loved pet names, and you eventually started liking them too.

sure, you weren’t close, but you really liked the ‘hey, hun, how are you?’s until you got something better than that.

“hey, love, how are you?” james asked as he filled his water bottle.

“hi, james, i’m good” you smiled

“so, i was thinking” your stomach started twisting itself into a knot. “could i maybe get your number?”

“yeah, of course.” your cheeks were getting hotter by the second.

“great, just type in” he smirked, giving you his phone. “i’ll text you later?”

“for sure.” you smiled.

once you got to practice, it was obvious something happened, especially because of the smile you couldn’t get rid of.

“what’s up, y/n?” pandora asked, as you sat down next to her.

“james. he asked me for my number.” you kept on smiling.

“you mean prongs? okay, score” marlene joked.

“please! we’re friends.” you insisted.

“like you don’t have the biggest crush on him.” pandora laughed and you shoved your face in your hands, blushing.

once james got to practice, it was obvious something had happened to him too. especially because he couldn’t stop smiling.

“spill it, prongs.” sirius said, without even looking at him for two full seconds.

“what?!” james got defensive and sirius glared at him. “i asked y/n for her number.”

“what’d she say?” peter asked, remus was clearly paying attention too.

“she just gave it to me, can you believe that?” he smiled.

“i actually can’t.” sirius joked.

“shut up!” james scoffed.

“we’re going to lily’s birthday thing, i’m sure she’ll be there too. if you wanna shoot your shot.” remus smirked at him.

“really?” james asked, a glimmer in his eyes.

james had never felt so excited about any girl before, he couldn’t actually describe it. there was just something about you.

you spent the whole week talking to james, texting, getting coffee after practice,

he took about two hours to get ready for lily’s birthday, he was so nervous when he got there he felt like he could faint. it also didn’t help sirius was laughing at him for a very long time, but when you got there? that was probably it for him.

he could’ve just fainted because of the dress you were wearing, red was definitely your color. and with that he couldnt stop picturing you in his team’s uniform.

as you said hi to your friends, mary pointed him out and you could’ve actually passed out. your stomach went into swirls and you waved at him from afar, when he smiled at you, that was probably the nail onto your coffin, because james potter was going to be the only thing on your mind for a long time.

he came over to you after about 15 minutes of overthinking all the things he said to you through text.

“hey, hun” he said, giving you a quick hug.

“hi, james, fancy seeing you here!” you joke, taking a sip from your coke and rum.

“well, what can i say? im a pretty unpredictable guy.” he joked, sitting next to you and playing with the straw on your cup.

“you want some?” you suggested because by the way he was looking at your cup, it seemed like he was craving it.

“nah, i’m driving tonight.” he said, a sad puppy look on his face.

“hey, y/n, weren’t you needing that drive home?” pandora asked, kicking your feet.

“oh, if you want to, i can take you home.” the dark haired boy suggested, smiling at you, again, and how could you say no?

“i’d actually love that, thanks” you couldn’t help but smile back.

“you can just drop me off here” you said as he stopped in front of the driveway. “thanks for the ride, jamie”

as you looked over to him, he was already looking at you. his eyes were focused on your mouth, and he knew that if he didn’t ask you now he probably wouldn’t.

“hey, i was thinking, my team’s playing next Saturday and i’d really like it if you’d come by and watch… if you’re free and want to, of course.” he was staring at the steering wheel. “it’s this casual thing, don’t worry, i actually think some of your friends are going and-“

“i’ll be there.” you assure him, james’ head quickly turns, hes facing you again.

now you both are just staring at each other, lingering. his hand went over to you and put back a strand of your hair, and so your heart was pounding in your chest very rapidly and you didn’t quite know what he’d do next.

“i really wanna kiss you now.” he whispered like it was the biggest secret he ever told anyone.

“okay.” you answered, quickly nodding, very nervous to say anything else.

“but i cant though, not yet, ‘cause i know you had a lot to drink.” you felt like he was mostly saying that to himself.

“good night, james, thanks again for the ride.” you felt kind of let down, but still gave him a kiss on the cheek before you opened the car door.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU COULDNT KISS HER? WHAT THE HELL JAMES??” sirius shouted out at the locker room.

“SHE HAD A LOT TO DRINK!” he was trying so hard to defend himself, peter shook his head in disbelief.

“shes out there, i think. i’ll kiss her as soon as we finish this, i swear.” james promised, putting on his gloves.

“its not us you gotta swear to, mate.” remus said, and james knew that.

“wait so he didnt kiss you because you had some drinks?” lily asked, confused. “THAT WAS A FOUL, COME ON REF!” she shouted out before you answered.

“i actually think its kind of sweet.” pandora commented.

“i feel the same, but i really wanted a kiss, and i didn’t even drink that much! did i?” you ask, nervously.

“i dont think so.” lily was up and clapping now, she was the most excited about the game of all people there, mary was just giggling at her girlfriend's enthusiasm.

you waved at james during the intermission, he blushed and waved back and you were incredibly happy. you were cheering when he scored, and eventually started shouting the same things as lily (because you knew nothing about the rules).

when they won the game, you cheered like a proud mother, it felt good to be there for him. as he stepped out of the rink, he was calling you over, as you ran to him, he was taking his helmet off and turned around to get the mouthguard and you thought that was the cutest thing.

“hi” you smiled at him.

“hi” he answered, pulling you in and immediately kissing you, his lips were soft and he smelled like strawberry two in one shampoo.

“is this okay?” he asked once he pulled back, you couldn’t bare to answer, so you nodded, and just pulled him in again.

“hm, could you maybe get me some water?” he joked, pulling back again

“you’re an idiot, james potter.”

later that same evening, as you watched him dip french fries in a milkshake, you realized that you were walking on thin ice, especially because you might be falling in love.

[lexithwrites]

can we have a little insight into your jartylus idea??

okay okay so,,,barty and james used to be on the same ice hockey team since childhood right but barty's dad moved him so he's on a different team and they always had a rivalry but it got serious in hockey, and barty teases him a lot and james is just kinda used to it but then they meet regulus through sirius who joins james's team and they're both IN LOVE, like this guy is gorgeous and he's funny and mysterious and just cool and james is his usual charming, confident self but then barty has a bike and he's taller and he's covered in tattoos and just,,,they start competing for regulus' affection and they get into fights during hockey matches over it until regulus is like 'you're dumb i want you both but you have to sort your shit out between you first' and then barty starts teasing james a lil differently,,,because sometimes james looks at him in the changing room and maybe james goes red whenever barty teases him and does barty grin when james shoves him against walls or punches him? maybe? and regulus orchestrates the whole thing because he saw their sexual tension a mile away and wanted them to realise it before getting involved

[eastwindmlk]

For May' @jilychallenge I started two plunnies. One was Dillweed in a Fancy Metal Can and the other is this.

Partner: @charmsandtealeaves

Prompt: University Football/rugby/field hockey training is open to the public, on a very hot day star player A takes a shower from a water hose and B walks against a lamppost bc B might have been staring

Either read on AO3 or under the cut!

It was Wednesday evening in The Leaky Cauldron, which meant the lads had gathered in the back of the dingy establishment for their weekly team gathering. Well, James liked to call it their team gathering, it was mostly an excuse to grab a pint in the middle of the week for most of them. 

In front of them, on the large oval table in the back, they assumed was supposed to be their ‘event space’ that none of them could imagine would actually be used by anyone but them. After all, they’d celebrated most of their big moments around this table ever since uni. Lay the newest redition of their pub league bracket.

“I am sure we can manage,” Sirius commented, his finger gliding down the print-out with their pub league charter. Smirking as he tapped, their first match. “The Hog’s Head team always sucks. I’m pretty sure good ol’ Mundungus still pretends to be their striker.” 

Both the men rolled their eyes and a snicker went through the collection of young men gathered. Glasses clinked together. “Wait, Mundungus is their striker? The one that sells pot? Owns the pawnshop?” Frank asked curiously, squinting at the paper. 

“It almost feels bad to be playing against them. At least we don’t need to run too fast then,” Peter grinned, downing half of his pint in celebration. 

While James would not celebrate an easy win as readily as his friend, he could not help but feel a little bad for the middle-aged blokes having their first game against them. But he supposed that is why they had a point system instead of a knock-out. 

“We play Babberton Arms the week after, they’re usually decent, same goes for The White Wyvern.” It was then that a name caught his eye, there was a pub in the league that he wasn’t familiar with. They were new on the sheet, and what was more surprising was that their listed captain was one ‘Lily Evans’, a woman. 

Sirius noticed his hesitation, throwing his arm over his shoulder as he leaned in to look as well. “Anyone know The Three Broomsticks?” he asked, the team falling silent for a moment before Kingsley supplied:

“It’s a small gastropub down in the village. Nice place, little highbrow, though.” This caused a couple of people to pull out their phones to look it up. 

“They have a good menu.” 

“The lady who runs it is a total MILF.”

“I think I had a date there once. Nice place.” 

So far, it sounded pretty good. James reckoned he would probably recruit Sirius to go on a recon mission soon. Spend an evening there to scope out the competition. It would be fun. While he would never admit it aloud, he was not opposed to something a little finer than this. 

Peter, who started laughing, holding out his phone for everyone to get a glimpse of what was on the screen drew everyone’s attention. As far as James could tell, it was a team picture. All the players were posing in front of the metal goal that was part of their local park. 

He was not entirely sure what was too funny about it, but several people were chuckling and scoffing when the phone passed to them. “They’re all females?” Someone asked, clicking their tongue and earning a round of laughter. 

“We’ll be fine; I am sure a bunch of girls are not going to take our cup,” Remus commented, squeezing James’s shoulder. 

Sirius was quiet until someone made a remark about how they would at least have a good time looking at them run, pretending to jiggle a pair of tits, making the rest of the table burst into hysterics.

Easily and masterfully redirecting the jokes in an effort to cut short this sort of talk. By joking. “All I know is that we might want to put Pete in goal because he has never scored with a girl once in his life.” 

There was a short bout of silence around the table before the first person broke, Benjy snorting loudly and slapping Peter, who was not looking as amused as the others, on the back hard enough to hear it connect. 

“I just think we shouldn’t be too quick to judge them, it looks like they actually train,” James deducted, having found the profile himself and scrolling through the public posts. Finding out some interesting things about this other captain. 

Lily Evans and he had a few mutual friends, mostly people from the pub league and a bloke that went to the same gym as he did. 

They liked similar bands, she attended a Lord of the Rings marathon he’d been unable to get tickets to. 

By the looks of it, she and her friends dressed up. 

She volunteers for or supports multiple charities. Her work involves a white coat, which intrigued him.

Her red hair was natural, and her green eyes were breathtaking. 

He also found a post about wanting to start this women-only footy team. With dates and times when they were supposed to meet up.

James leaned in a little too close, to squint in the background of one of her throwback pictures where he could swear he knew the grease ball she was toting along when his finger slipped and he accidentally liked a picture of her on holiday. 

“Fuck, fuck, shit, fuck no,” he muttered to himself and frantically tapped the little thumbs up, only to be offered more options. By the time that he finally figured out how to unlike it, he’d left a heart, angry and laughing reaction, and there was no way in hell she did not know he was stalking her Facebook. 

Turns out, he did not need to be physically talking to someone to put his foot in his mouth. His ineptitude with the dinosaur that was Facebook did just fine at making him look like a right idiot. Though it must be some record, taking less than ten seconds.  

What made it worse was that, not a minute later, there was a buzz, the light on his phone blinking blue. A Facebook notification. Worse, a friend request from one Lily Evans.

After having ignored the notification for several hours James found himself staring at it, bending over his container of Szechuan noodles. Staring long and hard enough for Sirius to elbow him in the side. 

“If some spicy text got you this wrapped up, I need to see it,” he chuckled, trying to lean over to see what James was staring at. Not shrinking away from the glare he received, much to James’s disappointment, he was reminded that his best friend was not intimidated by him in the slightest. 

Turning the screen to show off the notification bar, rolling his eyes at Sirius snorted. “Isn’t that the captain from the Broomsticks team? What does she want from you?” 

“Maybe she wants to plead for mercy?” he suggested with a smirk, his thumb hovering over the decline button. Why would he accept it? It wasn’t like he knew her. His tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth for a moment before selecting ‘accept’. 

He might not know her personally, but he was not going to turn down the possibility of spying on their new rivals. As team captain, it was his responsibility to be prepared for anything. This certainly had nothing to do with the bikini picture he spotted earlier. 

---

By the time that his phone buzzed the following Saturday, while he was stretching before their first game, he had completely forgotten about this happening.

‘Good luck today! {insert football emoji and a smiley]

Squinting against the glare of the rising sun behind him, he could almost make out the picture of the redhead rival captain. There was a nervous roll of his stomach, eyes darting around the field. Wondering if maybe she was here to spy on them. But most of the crowd was distinctly more follically challenged and would not look nearly as good in a black one-piece as he had learned Lily did. 

He reacted to the message with his usual lion emoji before tossing the phone into his bag. Not wanting to get too distracted.

What did not help was checking it again at half-time, only to find a new message. 

‘You should pay more attention to that centre back.’ 

Making his eyes roam the stands in search of a hint of the spy, but if she was there, she was hiding in the crowd. 

‘We’ll be fine! He’s no Matt Clarke.’ 

The message was sent before he realized it, a reference to his favourite team that his friends would likely get. But would she? He supposed she could always google him if she wanted to know, he supposed. The ref blew his whistle and just before he tossed the phone back in the bag he saw the notification pop up. 

‘Think you’re good enough to go up against the Bald Eagle?’ 

She knew. And he considered that maybe he was already in love with this stranger. 

---

Just like that, his recognizance mission was compromised. Or rather, forgotten about. Until Peter asked casually while beating him mercilessly at a game of FIFA. “Did you hear the chick team won their first game seven nil? Maybe we should try and catch one of their trainings. See if this was just a stroke of luck.” 

He did not even have the decency to look at the screen when he tipped in another goal against him. 

James considered accusing him of cheating, but what was the point? The last time he did that, they were in college, and it had been embarrassing enough to still make him cringe today. “I did see a post about it on Lil’s timeline. I think they meet every Thursday.” 

The characters on screen celebrated the end of the game, and he immediately flicked to the main screen, not particularly feeling like seeing his pathetic stats.  

Peter grumbled something about the stats being there for the both of them before falling silent. Giving James a confused look. “Lil? You two are that friendly already?” 

He pulled up his shoulders and ran a hand through his hair. “I’d like to think so.” 

“Are you two secretly chatting or have you just become intimately familiar with her beach holiday pics?” Peter was still laughing between the coughs when his elbow landed in his stomach, throwing his hands up in defence. “Right, right! Got it! It’s both.” 

James shot him a playful glare and pulled up his shoulder, eyes returning to the screen to select another formation for his team. Certain he could out-strategize his friend’s undeniably superior skill. 

“I’ll go check them out this week.” 

---

The sun was starting to set when James and Sirius slunk into the park, rugged up in oversized cardigans they borrowed from Remus and stylish baseball caps that were generously donated by Kingsley. Who did insist they were not to adjust or bend them, as they were, collector's items. Or rather, they would be one day, and he was not going to risk it. Which did lead to a rather loose fit on Sirius and a promise of a very bad hair day for James. 

The pair of them carried a picnic blanket and book to look less suspicious. If they pretended to hold a book club. The biggest risk they ran was to look like nerds. 

Which they were. Not that James or Sirius would openly admit to this to anyone but each other. They are rather skilled at hiding their general nerdiness under a layer of muscle and smooth talking. Even if the smooth-talking occasionally included references to their nerd media of choice. 

James had overthought the time they should be arriving. Not too early, or they would notice something was off. Not too late, because then they would not get enough time to observe. After a lot of mulling over, James decided that twenty minutes after practice started should be perfect. 

He knew that their team took, at least, ten to fifteen minutes to waffle and joke around, and ten minutes was a quick warm-up. Which meant that they would probably wander in just as they started playing. 

Once he spotted the group of women, or rather, a collection of bouncing ponytails, James learned he was wrong, and he could not be happier about it. They were still warming up. Better yet, they were stretching and it was utterly enchanting. 

No matter how hard he tried, which was not very hard, he could not take his eyes off their captain. The feisty redhead he’d been texting off and on since Saturday wore a bright smile and a pair of criminally tight bike shorts as she dropped into a low lunge. 

A sight that he was clearly not prepared for. If it had not been for Sirius grabbing his arm, he might have walked straight into a rubbing bin. Frankly, he’d have deserved it for shamelessly staring. But what was a mortal man like him going to do? Avert his eyes when given the chance to glimpse at a goddess?

But as Sirius spread the blanket on the field across from the training, where he could resume his research in peace. The book he was pretending to read was open in his lap, his phone in his hand. He could not help himself. 

‘Good luck! [insert football and lady running emoji]’ 

Only after hitting sent, James realized that he might have just blown their cover. If Lily had done the same thing he had done when he got her message, it would not take a genius to figure out who they were. If there was something he’d learned about her over the past week or two was that she was, in fact, an actual genius. 

If the gods were merciful, she would see the humour in this. She’d not said anything about his little bikini picture snafu, which was arguably a lot creepier, and he had profusely apologized for it after a few pints to settle the nerves. 

That had been what had really set off their chatting. Messaging back and forth to the point that he had his eyes glued to his screen even while watching footy.  Remus had made remarks about it, which meant it had to be painfully obvious. 

Not that the screen was any sort of distraction now, for obvious reasons. However, there was also a less obvious and far more concerning reason for his mobile to lie discarded on the blanket. 

They're good. 

No, that was an understatement. They were terrifyingly competent. It was intimidating and did things to him, he would rather not admit to. 

“Prongs, I think we’re fucked,” commented Sirius after they watched a tall blonde flip throw the ball with such ease their jaws were on the floor. 

James swallowed, nodding slowly at his friend’s assessment. “So fucked.” A firm shove jolted him out of his trance to notice that, across the field, several of their rivals had turned to look at them. Most of them took this moment to catch their breaths, hands set into their sides. James could see their breaths form little clouds in the cooling evening air. 

He reeled in his jaw and raised a hand in an awkward greeting. As if he was not already done for, Lily raised her hand in what he thought would be an awkward wave back. Only for her to flip him off before winking and returning to her practice. Her jumper had ridden up and exposed a swath of tattooed skin on her side. 

Hand to his chest, James fell back into Sirius’s lap as if shot. Maybe he had been, because he was unwell. They’d never even spoken face-to-face, and he’d already decided on a May wedding at the Riverside, four kids and a Newfoundlander named Elvendork. 

Sirius peered at him with, what seemed like, genuine concern as James raked his hands over his face. “You right, mate?” he asked, the cap sliding forward as he tipped his head down to look at James. 

“Yeah. Yes. Though I could do with the incessant urge to make a fool of myself for her,” he groaned, an offended tsking rushing past his teeth when his friend pushed the cap down over his eyes. “Oi! Can you blame me? Just look at her!” 

Sirius looked up while he wrangled the cap back into place, taking a long moment and then some before sighing in defeat. “I vote Irish wolfhound and late spring. I look good in lavender.” 

“I was thinking Newfoundland,” he answered, a smirk playing around his lips.

“Only if I can be the godfather,” Sirius bargained, the raise of his eyebrows caused the cap to slide forward once more making James snicker. He let himself be pushed up and to his feet. “Go talk to her! Don’t do anything stupid,” his friend encouraged. 

James shot him a playful glare, tossing his own cap towards him and fixing his hair. Well, as much as it could be fixed. His feet already carrying him down the slight slope to the field. “It’s not like I am going to run into a lamp post,” he joked, tossing a grin over his shoulder seconds before connecting with just that. 

In his defence, the ladies were having a water break and Lily had taken off her jumper, standing there in just her sports bra, sweat glistening in the setting sun. Her hair was frizzy from the humidity and surrounded her like a halo. 

If that had not been enough, Lily had laughed, her head tilted back in delight and James was pretty sure he would move heaven and earth to be the one to make her laugh like that. Which was the thought that spun dizzily through his mind while he reeled from the impact. 

James staggered back a few steps, rubbing the side of his face that had made the actual impact. His glasses askew while he sat back down on the grass, blinking the spots from his vision. 

When his eyes focussed again, Lily was right there, her forehead creased with concern. Before he could think about it, his mouth moved. “Marry me?” Which was probably the first time that James Potter ever was truly mortified by something he had said. Mouth opening, this time intentionally, to apologize. 

But before he could, she laughed, and the sound was pure and surprisingly not like she wanted to run away. “How about you take me for a drink first?” 

The vigorous shake of his head made him reel all over again, but James didn’t care. ”It’s a date.” 

(A little reference vid, because I can.)

[tenthprinceofhell]

A Masterlist of Marauders Fic Recommendations to Read That Aren't by Zar (because people just need to leave him alone)

(ATYD, Choices, & Art Heist, Baby! are obvs at the top, but most people have read those so I'm gonna give the spotlight to some that aren't as overwhelmingly popular)

The Cadence of Part-Time Poets by motswolo

Wolfstar Boarding School/Rock-Band AU with LOTS of slowburn; 979,817 words

A Black Mass Over Highway Ninety by greenvlvetcouch

Wolfstar American Road Trip AU where Sirius and Remus drop everything and go on a road trip around the country (genuinely my favorite fic I've ever read in my LIFE); 225,172 words

Kill Your Darlings by MesserMoon

WIP Jegulus/Wolfstar/Rosekiller/Marylily Modern College AU where the Marauders gang all goes to the same university; 193,728 words (so far)

Sweater Weather by lumosinlove

Wolfstar Modern Hockey AU where Sirius is an NHL player and Remus is the team physical therapist; 156,108 words

Whatever Happened to the Young, Young Lovers? by georgia_sk

Jegulus fic in a scenario where Reg survived the cave and destroyed all the horcruxes; 324,210 words

Beneath a Big Blue Sky by eyra

Wolfstar Modern Farm AU where Remus is a sheep farmer on his family's farm and Sirius + James go to work at the farm for a summer; 68,298 words

On Another Ocean by colgatebluemintygel

WIP Wolfstar Modern Vacation AU where Remus and Sirius go vacationing across Europe; 103,434 words (so far)

That's the Art of Getting By by sarewolf

Wolfstar fic in a scenario where Harry was sent to live with Remus instead of at the Dursley's (like we all know he should have been); 40,459 words

Slow Endings by rweoutofthewoods

Jegulus fic in a scenario where Harry found a series of old love letters between James/Reg when he was cleaning out Grimmauld Place (the saddest shit I have EVER read); 6,958 words

Moony's Midnight Mix by padfootsoftly

WIP Wolfstar Modern College AU where Sirius plays college hockey and Remus runs the university radio station; 17,662 words (so far)

[ttylfedora]

April Fools with the Lions: Best Bits

Omg. Hello? It’s so nice to be back! In honour of April Fools and the discord having a bit of fun with it, I bring you… April Fools with the Lions: Best bits!

All characters belong to @lumosinlove. Happy April Fools!!

Logan rubbed his eyes, waking up fully. Leo curled into his neck at the movement. He looked over to find Finn’s side completely empty. Leo stirred once again and looked up at Logan with a sleepy smile.

Logan squinted at Leo, wondering if he was seeing things.

“Leo, why do you have lion face paint on?” Leo’s face was fully painted, as though he had been to Katie’s birthday party and had been forced to sit down and have his face painted during it.

“Why do you look like a zebra?” Leo asked, just as confused as Logan.

Logan grabbed his phone off of the nightstand and opened up his camera. Sure enough, an intricately painted zebra looked back at him.

He messaged Finn, asking if he woke up the same.

All that was sent back was a smile emoji sent by Siri.

-

“You’re going to walk into the rink like that?” Nat asked Kasey, who was sporting a dolphin and a rainbow across the side of his face.

“I need to find Finn before Finn finds me.” Kasey called back. “I know Alex didn’t do this on his own. He has about as much artistic talent as I do in my little toe.”

Kasey and Nat never did find Finn before practice. They did, however, find a Lion stood dead centre of the locker room looking at the Goalies TPed stalls.

“If this was you, you need to do better next year.” Kasey laughed, clapping Leo on the shoulder. Leo laughed.

“No no no. This was Cole and Layla. They were round the corner watching me come in here thinking I didn’t see them.

“Time to recruit Nat, I think,” Kasey whispered to Leo and pulled out his phone.

-

“Layla I have no clue what to do. I can’t go out on the ice like this. I thought I was being nice by just TPing Kasey’s stall!”

Layla only covered her mouth to suppress a chuckle, watching Cole panic over his now upside down name and number on his jersey.

“All is fair in love and war, Rookie!” Kasey howled through the door, Nat howling after him.

-

Pascal let out a frustrated groan. Some the start of practice, not a single one of his shot found the back of the net. Timmy let out a similar sigh, taking his helmet off and wiping the perspiration off his head.

“It’s playoff season! We can’t be doing this,” he gridded out. He watched Finn line up a perfect shot, only to miss as well. Looking over to Coach Weasley, he wondered why he wasn’t angrier. He looked amused, even.

Pascal looked down at his hockey stick. Something felt… off. He held it out in front of him, Timmy and Kuny doing the same.

“It feels small.” Evgeni stated.

Pascal looked up at the rest of the team to find the Triple Threat of April Fools, Remus, Sirius and James, grinning back at them.

“You know, when I locked Remus and Sirius in my basement, I did not expect to be paid back like this.”

-

“Luke! Luke!”

Luke ran into the bathroom, only to burst out laughing upon finding Saint with bright red hair.

“Was this you?” Saint’s face like thunder, he pointed to his bright red hair. Luke fought to keep a straight face and shook his head.

“I promise it wasn’t. Now hurry up, I need to shower as well.”

Two hours later, Saint and Luke rocked up to practice, looking like Rangers biggest fans sporting bright red and bright blue hair. Logan was unable to make a shot that practice, for he was laughing so hard at the coloured sweat dripping down both their necks. He snapped a pic for Leo, his only partner in fools it would seem…

-

Remus and Sirius made a habit of turning up to practice early. Maybe it was the quiet before the storm, maybe it was the control of having the rink to themselves. One thing they did know, however, was that they liked the rink before anyone started playing the practice session joint playlist. ‘Game Day Vibes’ they called it. A playlist comprising of songs from everyone’s repertoire.

Once the rink was full, Coach allowed the playlist to be put on. Except all that rang through the rink was… a nursery rhyme?

Remus looked over at Finn who was in charge of the playlist. He pressed skip. Finn looked up in confusion as a musical rendition of ‘incy wincy spider’ played out.

“Who, in the ever loving fuck put this in the playlist?” Jackson called out, skating round next to Finn as he frantically scrolled through the playlist. “It’s just nursery rhymes…”

James was doubled over in the far corner, something akin to ‘don’t diss my son’s music taste’ coming out in amongst gasps of laughter.

James had his playlist privileges revoked for 6 weeks.

-

“So we did the ducks last year, what are we doing to Remus and Sirius this year, Dumo?” Julian asked, placing his cereal bowl in the dishwasher.

Pascal thought on it, scratching his head.

Katie bounded in with multiple chain links in Rangers colours.

“Look what I made for Logan, Papa!” She held them up with a big toothy smile. Well, almost toothy. She had a visit from the tooth fairy the previous night.

Jules’ eyes widened and looked over at Pascal, who responded with his own fully toothy grin.

“Go get your brothers and sister, Katie. We have work to do.”

Remus and Sirius returned from practice to find their entire front room decked out in Rangers merch, chain links hanging from each light and across the ceiling.

“I swear as soon as Logan and I meet on the ice again…” Sirius looked over at Remus, “it’s war.”

Remus chuckled and pulled out his phone to find a message from Dumo.

‘Thanks for the key, it’s under the flower pot’

-

Everyone was gathered in Sid’s for their monthly get together. Some of the Rangers had made the trip down as well. Thomas was sat at the bar, his arm hooked loosely around Noelle’s waist.

“So no one managed to get either of the brothers?” She whispered in his ear.

Thomas smiled back at her, eyes softened as he moved a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Not yet. Did you manage to get the video?”

Noelle pulled her phone out of her bag and showed it to Thomas.

“It’s hilarious, T. Me and Nat were in stitches.” Thomas smiled slyly, placed a kiss on Noelle’s forehead, and walked up the the little make shift entertainment stage.

“Can I please have everyone’s attention!” He called out, arms wide. Mutters of ‘speech!’ were called out across the bar, paired with smattering’s of applause.

“Now with the close of another successful year of April Fools, we have this years standings. At the bottom, with the most unoriginal prank I think any of us have ever seen, we have Cole and Layla, who took it upon themselves to TP Knutty and Blizz’s goals.”

A round of ‘boo’s’ swept across the bar.

“Yes, yes, thank you. Do better next year” Cole and Layla had their heads in their hands looking mortified.

“Before I reveal the winner, I have one last thing I would like to do. Who here has been personally victimised by a certain pair of red-headed brothers this year?” Hands went up, Logan the Zebra’s face like thunder as people turned around to chuckle at him.

“Yes, now. I set Christmas on a task a week ago. Big love, Noelle,” he held a glass up to her and winked. “A little birdy once told us that our very own Alexander and Finnigan have their own pregame ritual they started when they were kids. Their mom and dad were more than happy to share this video with us-“

“No no no- please Walker I’m begging you,” Finn called out, laughter clinging onto his every word. Alex’s jaw was on the floor.

“If you’d please turn your attention to the screen.”

An old video played. A young Alex was instructing their parent to sit on the couch whilst Finn was in the background rewinding the tv to the perfect moment. The pair did an almost perfect rendition of the handshake from the parent trap.

Thomas looked back at Finn and Alex who were doubled over in laughter.

[tea-moon-ster]

Baby Fever

Three times O'Darwin experienced baby fever and one time they talked about it. enjoy!

all characters belong to the wonderful @lumosinlove. read it on ao3 here.

1.

Alex watched in awe as Kasey sat with Katie on the carpet, letting the girl braid his hair and attach colorful hair clips everywhere— including a few on his t-shirt and ears. The kid was entertaining what seemed to be a very serious conversation about hockey unicorns with Kasey, who nodded along to everything she said. 

Alex was simply melting on the couch, watching the pair, and letting himself picture the same scene in his head, but with a different kid. A kid of their own. With Kasey’s soft hair and Natalie’s big eyes, and her smile, and his nose. They’d poked the topic a few times, and they were gladly all on the same page: big yes to kids, but not for another few years. But that didn’t stop Alex’s heart from pulling at the sight of his boyfriend with a kid, who was now climbing on his broad shoulders to get a better grip on the space buns she was making.

Alex sighed, slowly turning to where Nat was scrolling her phone at his side, and batted his eyes at her. And stared. When Natalie looked up from the itch of the insisting gaze, her eyes went from Alex to Kasey to Alex again.

“What?”

Alex sighed again, glancing at their boyfriend before going back to Natalie again.

Realizing what was happening, Natalie’s eyebrows shot up, panic on her face. She started shaking her head, in between alarmed and amused. But the redhead didn’t lose his composure, batting his eyelashes more insistently, as if it would make her magically change her mind.

“Alexander, no! Not yet!” she laughed, bringing a hand to his cheek.

He sighed dramatically, dropping his head on her lap. Natalie smiled, stroking her fingers though the soft hair in slow circles and returning to her phone. Not yet, but soon, she thought.

2.

Harry Potter was growing up fast, Kasey thought as he watched the two-year-old running wobbly on the grass.

It was a sunny Sunday, and the Lions had opted for a picnic in the town’s Central Park. It had been a good day, with sandwiches and muffins, laughs and NHL players doing stunts on the soft grass. Remus and Logan were napping under the big tree they’d camped under, Adele was teaching Kuny and Thomas how to make flower crowns, and Lily had gone for a walk with Noelle and Finn.

Kasey let out a pleased hum as Nat’s fingers stroked through his hair. His head was on her lap, Alex sitting at his side and scratching his arm lightly, and he began to doze off as a soft breeze moved the green brunches above them. 

Then, a soft thud.

He opened his eyes to find Harry on his hands and knees on the grass a few feet from them, a startled expression on his face.

A few seconds of complete silence passed, the whole team holding their breaths as the toddler pondered whether to ignore the fall and keep wadding around or to start crying. Then, the little face crumpled in a frown as a long wail filled the air. Second option was it, then.

Kasey sat up to look for James. To his horror, he found him on the other side of the green area, racing Sirius in a back and forth. Shit. And Lily was on her walk…

And Harry was crying.

A chorus of cooing noises raised in their little settlement, and a few got closer to them in case Harry wanted to be picked up. Instead, after looking frantically around for a parent, the toddler got on his feet and made a beeline towards a bewildered Alex, who had sat up to check on him, and crushed against his chest.

The redhead’s brows shot up as he put a hesitant hand on the little back, stroking softly up and down.

“Er. Hey, buddy, it’s okay. You were doing good.”

The kid sniffled into his chest, little fists grabbing the t-shirt as he calmed down. Alex sent an alarmed look at his partners, who were watching the scene in between confusion and amusement. As the kid reached for a strand of red hair, hums of understanding raised from the team.

Kasey had to suppress a laugh as Alex looked at them in a pleading help me look. A warmth sensation quickly spread in his chest as he watched Alex busy with the kid. And by the stillness of Nat’s fingers through his hair, she was feeling it, too. He looked up at her, and saw a softened smile, probably the mirror of his own, and returned his gaze to their man.

Alex raised an eyebrow at their smiles, then his focus returned to the kid. He gently checked his hands and knees for any sign of injuries, and let a sigh of relief when all he found was some mud.

“Would you look at that, you didn’t even get an ouchie,” he tried with the most soothing voice Kasey had ever heard him use. “Like a real pro.”

That made the kid giggle, and that was when James arrived, scooping him up into his arms and blowing a raspberry on his neck, before checking him.

3. 

They were in a hurry. The supermarket was about to close, and it would stay that way for the next couple of days for the upcoming holidays. And of course, they were out of milk. And of everything else they needed for the dessert they were supposed to bring to Dumo’s for the team’s holiday dinner.

Kasey was pushing the cart with long strides, Natalie jogging at his side. Alex was…somewhere, looking for milk. They’d split to get all the stuff they needed as fast as they could, and now just a few items remained unchecked on the crumpled list in Kasey’s hand.

“Alright, we just need chocolate chips and…cocoa, c’mon,” he read. “They should be this way. I don’t remember the quantities, but your dad always says to add a little more, for the flavor. We should be fine with two packs each, don’t you think, Nat?” He got no response. “Nat?”

Kasey turned, only to find shelves full of cookies facing him, and Natalie nowhere to be seen.

“Nat?”

The blonde’s head peeked from two aisles back, a touched pout arching her lips downwards. Then she disappeared again, and Kasey suppressed a small huff at how late it was getting, turning the cart to follow her. When he approached her, he found himself surrounded by…baby dresses, and baby shoes, and baby socks. Shit, the baby clothing aisle. Not this late in the evening.

Natalie was browsing the shelves up and down, hands already full of impossibly small clothes, pout still on. When she noticed him, she raised a pink onesie with little strawberries to his face without a word.

He took a deep breath.

“Nat,” he started. “Yeah, it’s very cute. And yeah, I get it, I call Alex Berry. But we don’t have a baby to put in there, and the store will lock us in if we don’t hurry. We need to go.”

“Just a second.”

She ignored his groan and let out a soft squeak at all the socks for newborns.

It was at that moment that Alex joined them with a quick jog.

“Hey, got the milk,” he said. “What else do we-oh.”

His eyes widened at the sight of the baby clothes. He let the milk fall into the cart as Nat turned to hand him a few pairs of tiny socks, and Kasey saw the exact moment he zoned out, studying the items that seemed even smaller in his hands. He raised his amazed gaze on Kasey.

“They’re so small.”

“Oh, no, you have to be kidding me,” he groaned. “Alex, please, I need your back-up here. We really need to go, it’s late.” Neither of them seemed to hear him as Alex joined Nat’s browsing with eyes open in wonder, holding hands. “Please. I can’t carry you two and the cart.”

Alex gasped. “Babes, come look at these mini-Converse.”

Natalie let out a cooing noise. “We must get them.”

“I think we do.”

“No, we don’t,” Kasey said, taking all the items from Natalie’s arms and putting them back hastily. “We absolutely don’t. Come on.” He heard two identical suffering sighs. “We don’t even have a child!”

“Not yet.”

“It’s for when we have one!”

“That’s really not how it works!”

.

They were all in bed, enjoying the comfortable silence. Natalie was reading her novel, Kasey had put his phone away and was now passing light fingers on Alex’s back, the redhead sprawled over him. His own fingers were drawing imaginary lines on the goalie’s neck, and his foot was touching Natalie’s just because. But Alex couldn’t stop thinking about his two and kids.

“You looked so good today,” he murmured at Kasey at one point, lifting his head. “With Katie.”

Kasey shrugged, a finger going to poke the redhead’s cheek. “She’s nice.”

“You’re nice. It was adorable.”

Nat snorted, without lifting her eyes from the page. “You should have seen him, Kase. He was sitting there, staring at you two like a fish, then looked at me with those big puppy eyes of his, basically saying please.”

Alex groaned, burying his face in Kasey’s neck as the goalie snickered and hugged him tighter.

“Way to sell me out, Darcy.”

“Shut, it, O’Hara, it was adorable.” She patted his head lightly. “One day, babe, just not yet.”

“I know, I know,” Alex sighed dreamily, making her smile.

There were all serene with the last few words. They loved each other, and they all felt that for a few years it had to be just about them and finding the right balance.

A few minutes passed. Natalie turned another page, Alex’s head returned on Kasey’s shoulder, and Kasey was slowly closing his eyes.

Then Alex cleared his throat.

“So, would you prefer a boy or a girl?”

Kasey’s laugh rumbled under his head. “You’re gonna talk about it all night, aren’t you?”

“Just until three, don’t worry. So? Boy or girl?”

“Well, I need a girl,” Nat reasoned, keeping the sign with a finger as she tilted her head to look at them. “I can’t be the only one with, like, you two and more.”

Alex felt Kasey nodding, the hand through his hair stroking stopping just for a second before returning to the rhythm, if a bit softer. He already knew that Kasey would have liked a little girl. Alex knew he would’ve loved Kasey with a little girl. Then Natalie looked at him, a big smile stretching her lips.

“But you,” she passed a hand through crimson hair. “You with a baby boy.”

Kasey made a soft sound, suppressing it in a kiss through his hair. Alex smiled.

“I can’t believe we’re talking about it. I love this,” he gestured between all three of them. “Alright, how many?”

Natalie laughed, finally giving up on finishing the chapter that night as she placed it on the nightstand. She then rolled to look at her boys, feet dangling in the hair.

“What I know,” Kasey said, “Is that we won’t have an only child. Like, out of question.”

“Yeah, that won’t do,” Natalie agreed. Both she and Alex knew that Kasey had hated growing up alone, with just a few older cousins he got to see occasionally, and that solitude had felt impossibly heavy on him as a kid.

“But not too many,” Nat warned. “I don’t want us to be…outnumbered.” The other two laughed.

“Two should be about right, don’t you think?” Alex said. “A boy and a girl, close in age. Like me and Finn? Even less space in between.”

“We don’t really get to choose the gender, sugar,” Natalie chuckled. “But sounds nice.”

“Let’s stop at two, no matter what. I don’t want us to end like Coach and Molly, still insisting on a girl after six boys,” Kasey added. “Do we want them biological?” he asked after a while. “You know, there are options, and all of them are valid…”

“I think I’d like to carry a baby,” Nat said carefully, and suppressed a smile as she saw both her boyfriends tense up at the words, eyes going unfocused for just a second. “At least once. We’ll think about it, see how it goes. Also, in any case, I’d like a newborn. The baby shoes.”

Alex blindly patted Kasey’s shoulder as he suppressed a yawn. “You heard her. The baby shoes.”

“Fine by me.”

He left a peck on the other man’s forehead, and then leaning forward to give one to Natalie, too. He couldn’t stop thinking of how small a newborn would look in Alex’s arms, or about the endless possible combinations of their traits mixed into one small, already so loved person. And more.

A few moments into the darkness of the room, Alex turned his head to Natalie.

“I don’t want to rush anything. I’m so happy with what we have now. I just love knowing that’s the direction we’re going to. Together.”

“Sap,” she smiled delightedly, running a finger over his cheek.

“Simp,” he replied, kissing her hand.

Kasey groaned.

“Sleep.”

[polyjuicedpadfoot]

Em’s December Delivery!

Hello friends, I am super excited to announce that November has been a very productive and creative month for me, just in time for the winter holidays! 

There were a few things I can thank for my inspiration. The first being The Adult Fandom Project’s holiday challenge! I wrote 4 one shots for the challenge, all of which I will be posting this month!

The second is my Secret Santa gift for the lovely @carlav-blogs. Six parts, one fic. Two words: Professor AU ;)

The third being a Christmas gift for my love @siriuslythatbitch. Again, six parts, one fic. Two words: Hockey AU ;)

I will be posting approximately every second day of December, starting today on December 1st going all the way until December 31st! 

If anyone is interested in what I will be posting and when, the schedule is below the cut. But for now, all I have to say is Happy Holidays everyone and enjoy the last month of 2022! 

Coming at Christmas (Jegulus, E, 6k)

Description: James meets a man named Reg at a charity ball and can't stop thinking of him for months. Fast forward to the Pure-blood Ball where he just so happens to meet Regulus Black once again.

Posting: December 1st

❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎

Learning to Trust Again (Wolfstar, E, ~30k)

Description: Thirteen years after Sirius' life changed forever, he's learned to survive, he's learned to manage and he's learned to raise Harry. Now, going back to Hogwarts to teach while Harry goes back for his third year, Sirius finds his life changing once again, throwing him back into the past with no idea how to deal with it all over again.

Posting: December 3rd, 7th, 12th, 16th, 21th, and 25rd

❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎

Golden Goal (Wolfstar, E, ~30k)

Description: When Remus gets selected to play on Team Canada in the 2022 Winter Olympics, nothing can bring him down...nothing except being forced to play with his old teammate, Sirius Black, once again. Thrown together on the same team, Remus tries to navigate his past with Sirius while refusing to believe that he's changed...but oh, how Sirius has changed.

Posting: December 5th, 9th, 14th, 19th, 23st, and 25th

❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎

Latkes and Love Confessions (Wolfstar, T, 1.7k)

Description: Remus walks in on his boyfriend and his mother bonding.

Posting: December 27th

❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎

Loosening Up (Rosekiller, E, 4.7k)

Description: Barty tags along with Evan to his company Christmas party only to watch Evan crash and burn from the stress. So, like the good friend he is, Barty offers to help Evan relax and nothing relaxes Evan like a blowjob.

Posting: December 29th

❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎

Letters to You (Pandalily, M, ~7k)

Description: Twelve letters exchanged between Lily and Pandora between December 1979 and October 1981.

Posting: December 31st

[shivstar]

This just screams Prongsfoot to me. - Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

Just read this plot summary-------

"They don’t play for the same team. Or do they?

Jamie Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest friend. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking roommate cut him off without an explanation. So what if things got a little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Nobody died.

Ryan Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Now, with their college teams set to face off at the national championship, he’ll finally get a chance to apologize. But all it takes is one look at his longtime crush, and the ache is stronger than ever."

I had not read this but I am going to give this a try because it feels like Jamie Canning in this story is too much like our James Potter and Ryan Wesley - tattooed, crush on his best friend, rule breaking - Sirius Black....

Will tell you were they really a second coming of our Prongsfoot or not....

[fourmoony]

𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐓: Chapter Two

After breaking your ankle in the wake of a break up, you're determined to get through your senior year without any interference from James Potter. That is, until his loyalty to loose cannon Sirius Black lands him straight in your lap. Or, rather, your kiddie-skate group.

CW: Language, mentions of violence, sour sibling relationships, overbearing parents, mention of car crash and scars.

ITN: The Masterlist

James

One of James’ earliest memories is of the rink, back home. It’s not exactly a clear memory. There was lots of falling, a plastic penguin almost the size of him, and Sirius Black. His first day at kiddie-skate. Even though he’d spent more time on his ass than skating, it’s a memory James will always cherish. Even if it blurs, slightly, as time goes on. Because it’s the day he met Sirius. At five years old, James had no idea that the lanky, smart as a whip kid who somehow managed to both stumble across the ice and act like he owned it at the same time, was going to be one of the most important people in his life. Sirius is James’ soulmate. His best friend. There isn’t a day where James isn’t grateful for Sirius Black stumbling into his life; wild and untamed.

Except, maybe, today.

The rink at Hogwarts is a place James always feels at home. The smell of Zamboni fuel and the rubber mats meant to protect skate blades. The banging of lockers and the whir of the air conditioning that keeps the ice cool. It’s a small area of campus where James can go when he feels too much. Too overwhelmed, too sad, too anxious. A safe place. Even training is a relief to James. A time in which he’s allocated to turn his brain off, become captain and lead his team. He focusses on plays and makes mental notes on what to work on with the guys. During games he’s focussed on one thing: winning.

But today. Today, Hogwarts Arena is the very source of James’ anxiety, of the weight in his chest that just keeps pressing. It’s not that he’s scared of the rink. Or even of you. But the idea of being in charge of twelve miniature humans whilst knowing in the back of his mind that you’d rather be literally anywhere else is a pretty decent source of anxiety. The last thing James wants to do is make you uncomfortable in an environment that you love so much. You’ve coached mini skate since you were a sophomore. You once told James that it felt like your purpose. To fill the world with as many accomplished skaters as possible. Be a role-model. A guiding light. Someone they could look back at and think I’m glad I had a coach like her. A motivator. A kind soul.

You’re setting cones out on the ice when James takes a seat on the team bench to put his skates on. The kids are down by the tunnel, if the noise that flows from it is anything to go by. James finds himself staring as you skate. You do it with such ease that it reminds him hockey isn’t the only on-ice sport. You’ve trained your entire life to get to the level you’re at, today. He knows you’re going for Nationals again, this year, refuses to allow himself to think about last year. You deserve better of him than to have him distracted by that whilst co-coaching. He knows how that spiral goes. Spent all of his summer thinking about you, about the physical therapy you’d be enduring, the anger you’d have been feeling. Shame washes over him, hot and fast.

He ties his skates tighter than they probably need to be and joins you on the ice. Your head turns at the sound of his blades against the ice, fresh pressed by the Zamboni, after your training session with Pince, probably. You’re still wearing your training clothes, likely haven’t left the rink to get food between practice and mini skate. James makes a mental note to bring you something, next week.

“You’re late.” You call across the ice. You set another cone down, skate towards the next location.

James weaves in and out of the cones you’ve set out with ease, gaining on you without trying. “My Econ class ran long. Flitwick sent you an email.”

Your ponytail swishes when you turn to drop the next cone, feet crossing in a way James imagines is only capable because of your toe picks. If he tried a move like that in his blunt rounded hockey skates, he’d land on his face. With the final cone in your hand, you skate backwards, eyes on James. “Literally the last thing I said to you was ‘be on time’, James.” You sigh.

James smiles, “Actually, I believe the last thing you said to me was ‘You’re sorry that you feel like shit’.”

Your eyebrows hook in the middle when they furrow. James knows he has no right to chide you or try to joke with you, but he wants this to be painless. He hurt you, he knows that. He done a lot of stupid shit, things he can’t take back, even if he wishes he could. But he never thought you’d want to act like strangers, like two people who can’t hold a civil conversation. In his opinion, there’s too much history there, for that.

“The kids will be out any minute. We’re going over control. You take half, I take half.” You nod your head to the pile of cones on the other side of the rink.

James nods. “Sure thing.” He gets to work on setting up his cones before the kids come out of the tunnel.

The majority of kiddie-skate passes in a flurry of tiny skates torpedoing around James. He tries to keep up, tries not to come across as stern, even when all six of the kids under his leadership would rather race each other across the span of the ice. They remind him of he and Sirius, at that age. Causing trouble everywhere they went, consequences be damned. It’s exhausting, but nowhere near as awkward as he thought it might be. You dutifully keep your kids to your side of the ice, well behaved and skating in neat circles around their cones. James finds himself wondering if you gave him the wild bunch as a punishment. By the end of the session, James finds himself giving in and racing seven-year-old Michael from one net to the other. He considers letting him win but decides against it when he sees the determination on Michael’s face, the sure-fire way he glides on his skates. He’s fast; has potential. That shouldn’t be coddled. It should be nurtured, turned into motivation to try harder, next time. Because, next time, when he does try harder, he might just win. Until he’s playing at division one level.

James is sure that’ll be true, one day.

The parents mill around by the exit doors at the far end of the ice, ten minutes before the session ends. James can’t quite believe how fast the time has gone. You call him and his group of kids over to the middle of the ice, skidding to a stop on the edge of your skates. Dutifully, James directs his kids towards you. “Let’s go, team. The boss wants us over here.”

If you hear him, you don’t say anything. Instead, you direct James to stand next to you, arms crossed over your chest. “What did we learn, today?” You ask.

“Control.”

You nod, smile kind and patient. “That control is a key part in skating. Whether it be hockey or figure skating. If you can’t control your weight, your speed, your skates? Pshh,” You scoff, dramatically, “Game over, guys. You’re out.”

There’s amusement in your voice, despite the importance of what you’re saying. James finds it admirable, your ability to connect with the kids. You could connect with anyone, anywhere, though. It’s the kind of person you are. Patient, kind. Undeserving of all the bullshit James has brought into your life since you met him.

“Did you lose control when you broke your ankle?” One of the kids asks. A younger girl, a sparkly pink helmet sitting squint on her head. There’s no malice, just that childlike innocence that brings about curiosity.

The question shocks you, regardless. Your lips press into a thin line, eyes a little distant. James wonders if he should step in, cover for you. Change the subject, somehow.

“No, Kayla,” You fix your face, a sort of wistful look that James can’t figure out. “No, I lost focus.”

James feels his heart sink. Two nights before you left for Nationals, James dropped an irreversible bomb on you. It broke your heart, tore your relationship apart. Then, he sent you off to Nationals with a head full of his bullshit and watched you break your ankle in front of the entire country. Because he distracted you. He broke your focus. Took away the gold medal that had your name written on it.

The guilt keeps him awake at night. More so than the ache of missing you. Because he does. He misses everything about you. Your smile, your laugh, the way your nose scrunches when you’re focussing. He even misses your grumpiness when trying, and failing, to nail a new routine. He misses holding you, kissing you, telling you that he loves you.

But the guilt, the shame. The reality of what he did. It plays on a loop in his head, eats him alive. He’s trying not to drown in it as he watches you dismiss the kids, waving to parents as you skate them to the door. James just stands there, in the middle of the ice. Unsure of how to act. Unsure of what to do, if he should go, if he should stay and try to talk to you. He settles for skating to the team bench, a carved-out box halfway up the side boards. He sits down on the bench, bends down to untie his skates.

The door clicks shut behind you a moment later, a whoosh of cold air and the scent of your perfume as your skates skid to a stop outside the box, beforehand. James looks up as you cross past him, sitting on the opposite end of the bench. You follow his lead, untying your skates in silence. He puts his guards on, places them in his bag. Puts his shoes on. All the while suffocating in the silence.

“It wasn’t your fault.” You tell James. Your voice is quiet, so soft, like maybe you’re not sure you want him to hear you. Your eyes don’t leave your socked feet, hands folded in your lap.

James focusses on putting his shoes on. Doesn’t look at you. “You were right, you know.”

He catches the way your face scrunches, the sadness there. You won’t appreciate his comfort, so he doesn’t give you it. Instead, he stands, slings his bag over his shoulder. His hand itches to reach out and touch you, to tell you that he’s sorry. He wishes he could change everything, could take it all back. “I do feel like shit. But that’s not why I’m sorry.”

Your head tilts up. Your eyes are filled with tears and James can’t stomach it. He hates himself. You look so sad and tired. “See you on Sunday.” He nods and books it out of the team box, along the corridor, the foyer, and into the carpark.

He climbs into his truck, lets the shame swallow him whole, lets the pain burn him. And there, in private, alone, he breaks. He loathes himself for it. He has no right, no reason to be so sad, so solemn. He took everything from you. Yet he still breaks, anyway.

James doesn’t know how much more he can take before he can’t put himself back together, anymore.

Sirius

The Hogwarts Library is Sirius’ least likely haunt. He, honestly, avoids it at all costs. Unless he’s trying to find Lily. Even then, he tends to only stay for ten minutes, or so. It’s not that he hates studying. He actually enjoys his classes, finds the work stimulating for his overactive brain. He’s smart. That’s not to be doubted, even if he acts like an idiot ninety-nine percent of the time. The reason he hates the library so much is because it reminds him of the one at Grimmauld Place.

Hogwarts library is brighter, in fairness. But the high ceilings, regal architecture, the smell of old books and the eerie quiet. It’s all too similar to the library in his childhood home. It makes his skin crawl, the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention. He’s guarded, like he always was at home. A place where it was do or die, fight to survive. Libraries are supposed to be a peaceful place. A place of childlike wonderment, a place where you can get lost in stories of knights in shining armour, passionate love. His opinion of libraries is that it’s a place one would go to get the shit kicked out of them at a dinner party for being too smart tongued. He remembers that all too well. Hates that particular story.

The girl at the front desk smiles kindly at him, but all he sees is a vulture waiting to pick him off, trap him here and make him relive his worst memories over and over. He grimaces, places his hands on the cold wood of the desk and begs it to ground him. Sirius forces a breath as he rolls his shoulders.

“I’m here for community service? There’s a kid writing a paper or something.” His words are breathy, unsure, gritted out through unwilling teeth. He hates this. Hates it with his entire being.

The blonde girl smiles, likely a little awe struck at the sight of a hockey player in the library. As far as Sirius knows, none of them use the library. Half of the team prefer to study at home, and half of them could give less of a shit about their degrees. “Uh, sure, Sirius, right?” She asks, prucking around the desk for a sheet of paper. 

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Astrology is on the third floor. He’ll be waiting at the main desk for you.”

Sirius nods, thanks the girl and heads towards the stairs. He climbs them two at a time, skin itching with anticipation. He really hopes whoever he’s stuck with for the foreseeable future isn’t an overachieving dick. The signs for the astrology section of Hogwarts library point to the right, Sirius follows them all the way to the main desk in the centre of the floor. All of the shelves surround it in a circle, little stars and flecks of paint on the edge of each bookcase. In the centre of the circle sits a circle table, scattered with open books, papers, drawings of constellations.

Sirius tries not to think too hard about the irony of being landed with an astronomy student. He might hate everything about his family, but he loves the stars. Loves his namesake.

There’s no one at the desk, their things left abandoned. Sirius tries not to be nosey but fails. The closest thing to him are drawings, mappings of planets and stars. Hand drawn; with such painstaking detail he finds himself in awe of it. He sets it down, moves on to the next piece of paper, covered in barely legible ramblings about the importance of planet distance, star mapping, it’s barely congeable.

“Did no one ever teach you not to touch what’s not yours?”

Sirius freezes, blood draining from his entire body. The ice cold, baritone voice. Sirius hears it in his nightmares. It claws at the darkest parts of him. His hands shake as he turns; face to face with a more polished carbon copy of himself. Regulus Black is two years younger than Sirius, and yet he looks almost a decade older. He looks positively regal in his ironed clothes, with his perfectly tamed hair and clean-shaven face. Even his shoes don’t have a single scuff on them. It’s not lost on Sirius, the idea that this could have been him. He was supposed to be the heir, the brother with his shit together.

Regulus scowls at Sirius, reaches forwards to rip the paper from his trembling hands. His brain refuses to work, bile rises in his throat. He’s going to kill Moody.

There are memories, there. Playing somewhere in the back of his head. Childlike voices talking in hushed tones, screaming, fighting, hateful words, laughing, crying. He and Regulus were once as close as brothers could be. He hates that Regulus now looks at him with disgust. But refuses to let him win.

“Only thing my parents taught me was to hit fast and hard, watch your enemies wither and die.” Sirius scoffs, hands stuffed in his pockets. He will not allow Regulus to see him rattled. “Of course, they treated their own children like enemies.”

It’s Regulus’ turn to scoff. Even his scoff is prim and proper. He rounds the table and takes a seat, like a king in his throne. Sirius supposes he is. Everything in the Black family dynasty will be his in a few years. Everything Sirius didn’t want. Everything Regulus didn’t want. Not until he didn’t have a choice. “You wanted for nothing.” Regulus quips.

Sirius’ blood burns with the statement. He sounds exactly like their mother. Cruel, evil. Willing to overlook the darkness of her own soul because it got her what she wanted. Money and power. “Spoken like a true Black, Reggie. Congratulations.”

Regulus’ smile is nothing short of bitter. He knows the insult that lies in there, but he shrugs it off as easy as picking a piece of lint from his pure cotton shirt.

“I need all of the books from section A to B noted. Titles, author, date of publication. Alphabetised.” Regulus levels Sirius with a bored look and he balks.

His younger brother, acting like Sirius is beneath him. He shrugs, “Better get to work then, Reggie. Might take you a while.”

“You’re the one on community service for acting like a rabid animal.” Regulus shrugs.

“Yeah, I’ll take the suspension. This shit isn’t gonna happen.”

Regulus chuckles and Sirius can already picture it. His younger brother, sweet, kind, sensitive Reggie. Turned into a fortune five hundred shark, belittling his staff because he can. Just like their father. “Sure. Throw away your hockey career, Sirius. But the Black family won’t be there to welcome you back when you blow your trust fund.”

Sirius’ jaw ticks. Hockey is his life. The Cannon’s won’t touch him with a ten-foot pole, draft or no draft, if he doesn’t touch the ice this season.

“You’re just like him, you know.” Sirius spits. He doesn’t miss the way Regulus’ face hardens; a little shame mixed in there somewhere. They’re too similar, in some ways. Sirius knows exactly where to press where it hurts. 

Regulus hands him a notepad. “A to B.”

“Better get out before you end up like her, too, Reggie. That shit’s irreversible.” Sirius tells him, disappointed in himself for even saying it. It feels like acid on his tongue. He turns and goes to find section A. Doesn’t look back to see the fear on his younger brother’s face.

Remus

Thursday evenings are Remus’ least favourite. There’s no practice to keep his mind occupied, the gym is closed for deep cleaning, there’s nothing for him to occupy himself with, except his weekly call with his parents. He’s longed for an excuse to cancel a million times over. It never comes. A punishment, Remus thinks, for something he did in a past life. He loves his parents. They can be overbearing, intense, but they care. That’s a lot more than some people have.

But they don’t get him. His father, more so, than his mother. Hope Lupin is kind and understanding. If Remus told her he wanted to sack it all in and become a shark wrestler, tomorrow, she’d buy him a shark keyring and do as much research as it took to help him on his way. But Lyall Lupin? Five-time Stanley Cup Winner, top player in the NHL for years, retired, hardass hockey player? He��d strangle his only son with his bare hands. All he ever does is push. He pushes and pushes and refuses to see Remus’ health as an issue.

It’s exhausting. Sometimes, Remus just wants to be told to slow down. As much as he’d hate to (he has goals, things he wants to do, his illness won’t stop him). It would still be nice to not have so much pressure on him all of the time.

The call connects with a heavy sense of dread. Hope and Lyall are in their living room, a large canvass of Remus with his first ever hockey trophy hung proudly behind him. That was before the crash, before the scars and brittle bones. Back when the world was his for the taking. Remus hates that photo.

“Hi, love.” Hope beams, cheeks appled out in a smile.

Remus looks most like his mum. Right down to the sandy brown hair, fluffy and unruly. Except he has his father’s nose. The nose that his least favourite scar slashes jaggedly across. He avoids looking at the square with his face on it. Instead, he focusses on the look on his father’s face.

“What’s wrong?” Remus asks, nerves on edge.

Lyall Lupin, to the media, to people who don’t know him, is an unreadable man. Remus can read him like a book. His face might portray as impassive, but he’s furious. About what, Remus has no fucking idea. It’s always something.

“Nothing, love.” Hope tries to shake it off.

“You were a little heavy on your left skate last game, no?” Lyall grits out.

Remus almost laughs. Like, full on belly laughs. Disbelief washes over him, hot and furious, his blood burning. “I played first and second line because Kennedy bust his shoulder over the summer. You remember I have a bad knee, right?” Remus scoffs, eyebrows raised.

He sees the way his mother eyes his scars, the way they pale with the stretch. She looks sad, remorseful. He relaxes his face, shifts uncomfortably in his seat.

“Of course, we do, Rem.”

“You think the Wasps will be impressed with that performance? So early in the season, too.” Lyall scoffs, waving a dismissive hand at Remus.

Sometimes Remus thinks his parents see right through him. Sometimes, he wants to scream that he’s right there. That they almost lost him altogether and anything he does now should be a fucking bonus. That he’s sick of never being good enough. That his father should be grateful Remus is even still physically able to get on the ice.

Instead, he swallows the anger and sighs. “Holme gave me some new physio exercises. It’ll be better next time.”

His father nods. “Good.”

“Is that all, then?” Remus asks shortly.

“How was your week?” Hope asks, at the same time Lyall lets out a stern, cold, “Yes.”

She frowns at her husband, who blatantly ignores her. It raises a feral beast in Remus. A wolf howling. He wants to tell his father to respect his wife, to appreciate all she does for him. But he knows Hope hates when he does that. So, he scoffs, hangs up, and slams his laptop closed. He’s exhausted after a mere five-minute phone call, wants nothing more than to crawl into bed with a book and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist.

But Sirius stands in his doorway, a sympathetic look on his face. Remus hates it. Hates when Sirius treats him like something fragile, something that can be easily broken. While it may be physically accurate, it will take a lot more effort from Lyall Lupin to break Remus mentally.

“He was in top form.” Sirius murmurs.

Remus nods, runs his hands across his face. The raised bumps of his scars irritates him, so he drops his hands to his lap. “How was community service?”

Sirius shrugs. “The kid writing the paper?”

Remus hums.

“Regulus.”

“Shit. Sorry, Pads.” Remus offers, hand itching to reach out and intertwine with Sirius’. A comforting touch for both of them. He doesn’t.

Just follows Sirius across the room with his eyes as he approaches Remus’ neatly made bed and climbs in. Remus sighs. He’s not sure he has the energy for whatever game Sirius is playing. He can barely keep up anymore. They’re toeing the line between best friends and something else, and while Remus enjoys it, sometimes, he doesn’t think he can stomach it tonight.

But Sirius pushes the display pillows off the side, pulls back the covers for Remus and he finds he can’t resist.

Sirius smells like old books with a touch of cinnamon. He curls into Remus’ side with ease, muscles relaxing until he’s lax in his arms. He feels himself relaxing, too.

“I miss him.” Sirius whispers, voice broken.

Remus presses his lips to Sirius’ hair. “I know.”

“He hates me.”

His chest constricts. Remus knows how much Sirius regrets leaving Regulus. It weighs on him, is probably a large part of why he refuses to take responsibility for anything, ever. He wishes he could make it better for Sirius. “He hates that you got out.”

“I hate myself for not dragging him with me.” Sirius says.

His grip tightens on Remus, his head pushing further into Remus’ neck.

“He’ll forgive you. If you tell him.”

Sirius doesn’t say anything. His breathing slows, Remus feels his eyelashes flutter against his neck. Asleep. Out cold.

He presses one last kiss to Sirius’ hair, pushes all of the thoughts out of his head, and follows suit.

[awanderingdeal]

Hey Lucy! Could you please write some goalie love? Maybe some hurt-comfort with Leo going to Kasey for advice or something like that? 💛

Edited: 20th Feb 23 - Nothing major, just rewriting some stuff with (what I hope) are much improved skills.

Hey, 💛 Here's some Kasey giving Leo advice after his first game loss.

Rating: G

CW: None that I can think of, but do drop me a message if I have missed anything.

Character credit belongs to @lumosinlove

Leo had lost games before. Of course he had. Nobody got through a high school hockey career without experiencing that low. Still, he hadn't been prepared for the guilt curling in his stomach, pulling at his insides until he felt bitter bile at his throat.

Swallowing, Leo slumped back in his stall trying to silence the jeers of their opponent's fans ringing in his ears. A few feet away, James and Thomas cooed over photos of Thomas' new nephew, whilst Nado and Timmy made similar noises over potential tattoo designs. The rest of the team seemed to have put the defeat behind them already, but even the itch of sweat drying beneath his pads wasn't enough to get Leo moving.

"Hey," Kasey said, slapping his hand against Leo's shoulder before taking a seat in the next stall. "You okay?"

Leo pressed his tounge against the back of his teeth, thinking about shrugging off the question. Kasey watched him patiently; the only sign he was waiting for an answer was in the slight tilt of his head. It reminded him of something his Mama had told him once. People think more than they talk sometimes. You've gotta be comfortable with the silences. He hadn't really understood it back then.

"How'd you do it?" Leo asked eventually

Kasey cocked his head further. "I'm going to need a bit more than that."

Sometimes you have to push just a little.

"Knowing that the loss was your fault," Leo said.

Kasey blinked and cocked his head even further. Was he a fucking cat?

But for the most part, people will talk if you let them.

"Okay," Leo sighed, tangling his fingers together. "I get we're a team, but I should've saved that second goal and if I had we'd have won."

"And if Sirius hadn't lost the puck in the first place?"

"Sirius' job is to score goals meaning there's always a risk of him losing the puck. My entire job is to save goals. It's the only reason I'm here."

Kasey laughed, smoothing his hair out of his face, "Sorry, it's just funny. Rookies, I mean. They never change." He sat more upright, smile dropping into something softer, more reassuring. "Look, Leo. Sometimes you just make a mistake. You've just got to shrug it off, do better next time. Besides, for the pick to end up in front of you, then somebody else messed up too and if you don't blame them then you don't get to blame yourself either. Win together. Lose together."

Everything Kasey was saying made sense, yet Leo found himself trying to twist the words into something that would fit his own narrative. Tugging at a lose piece of skin at the corner of his nail, Leo opened his mouth and then closed it again.

"Stop being stupid," Kasey said as he stood. "Not an insult. Like I said, rookies are all the same. It's normal. You're going to have to get over that self-depriciating shit real quick though, if you want to keep any semblance of mental health in this game."

Leo huffed a breath feeling the air flare his nostrils. He wanted to stomp his feet and tell Kasey he was wrong. Instead, he leaned forwards and began to peel off his pads.

Kasey nodded knowingly. "I can't promise the losses hurt less with time, but you will get used to them. Grab a shower. We're getting burgers. Dinner's on Cap."

Sirius jerked his head up from the tablet he was engrossed with. "Excuse me?"

"The rookie needs cheering up. You're Captain."

"Burgers! Yes!" James whooped, "Thanks Pads. Can Lily come?"

Leo glanced between Kasey and Sirius. He didn't think he'd ever be confident enough to tell Sirius what to do. Despite clear attempts to to be as welcoming as possible he was still Sirius Black, captain of the Gryffindor Lions and impressive as fuck. That was just intimidating.

"OK, D'accord," Sirius threw his hands up in surrender, laughter bubbling on his lips. He shook his head muttering something in French that Leo couldn't quite catch. "For Leo. Just this once."

"Love you, Cap!" Finn called, starting a round of declarations that only got increasingly more ridiculous.

"Words can't express my gratitude."

"What did we do to deserve such a kind and generous leader?"

"I'm blowing you a kiss. Catch it."

"Thanks, Sirius," Leo said quietly, as the team quickly moved on to helping Evgeni choose the perfect shade of blue to repaint his bedroom. "Appreciate it."

Sirius just nodded at him, returning to his tablet briefly before looking back up at Leo. "You're doing great. Keep it up." His face twisted into something conflicted then settled on a smile.

"Everybody is doing great," Kasey agreed, only the slightest hint of sarcasm dripping into the comment. "What a fantastic team we are. Now hurry up, I'm starving."

With each item of clothing Leo removed and the warmth of the water on his skin, the familiar tightness across his chest began to disapate. It was going to be okay. Better than okay, maybe. The Lions were a pretty great bunch of people.

[fruitcoops]

Night Changes

This isn't based on an ask, but I've had some early-Cap ideas brewing and think about the first time the team heard him laugh a lot. His and James' friendship is so sweet in SW--the beginning of it must have been such a shock to them both. SW credit goes to @lumosinlove!

So maybe James had bitten off more than he could chew. It wasn’t the first time, to be sure, but coaxing (read: drag kicking and screaming) his new teammate out of the carefully-constructed mosaic of scowls that made up his entire personality was proving to be a little more challenging than he previously expected. With most rookies, all it took was some elbow grease and overenthusiastic inclusion in group events to get them to open up—with his brand-new soon-to-be best friend, he had to handle things a little more delicately.

Sirius Black was a puzzle wrapped up in one of those freaky code-breaking machines from World War Two Lily liked to talk about. He was one of the best hockey players James had ever seen, but off the ice he seemed to shut down. The intense focus on his face smoothed out into almost perfect neutrality, and in the four months since he joined the Lions, he had never once smiled for real in front of the team. He sat in his stall and padded up in silence, then went out and kicked ass before following Pascal home like a living shadow.

Naturally, James took it as a personal mission to pry Sirius Black’s closed-off persona open like a stubborn oyster. He tried including Sirius in group events—the rookie went along with a quiet “yeah, sure”, but sat at the table and nursed a single drink for the entire night. He tried getting into friendly banter with him on the ice, but it was like Sirius had never joked with anyone in his life. Hell, he even tried finding him a girlfriend, which tanked harder than the goddamn Titanic.

“Rookie!” James shouted down the hallway.

Sirius jumped and turned around, obviously confused. “Me?”

“Yes, you,” James laughed, jogging over to toss an arm over his shoulders. “What’s up?”

“Not much.”

He waited for Sirius to continue, then rolled his eyes and gave him a friendly shake. “C’mon, man, how was your weekend? Has Dumo coerced you into being a stay-at-home babysitter yet?”

Sirius’ frown deepened. “What? I come with him to practice every day.”

Change tactics, change tactics— “Got any plans for Friday?”

James knew the answer, of course; it was always no or not yet or a simple shake of the head. If he was a less observant man, he would have assumed Sirius didn’t actually want to hang out with the team. But the longing looks toward their easy rhythm and the way he always tilted himself toward locker room conversations told a different story. “None yet,” Sirius said with a shrug.

James gave him a friendly slap on the back. “Good, ‘cause I’m having a party at my place and you’re not allowed to miss it.”

“Why not?”

“Because I want you to be there, duh.” The bewilderment didn’t fade from Sirius’ face, but beneath it—well, maybe James was just seeing things, but he looked almost hopeful. He ruffled Sirius’ hair and headed for the locker room. “Friday at five, rookie! I’ll be waiting!”

--

The week passed in a slog of practices and cold weather. Sirius clammed up more and more as the party drew closer, but James didn’t miss the way his eyes flickered between the rest of them like he was analyzing a play. He would make one hell of a captain someday, if he could just relax a little.

“Hey, rookie, want a ride?” he asked when the big day finally arrived.

“Don’t you want to go home and set up first?” Sirius’ brow furrowed. For an eighteen-year-old kid, he was awfully thoughtful. James couldn’t wait to see him let loose a little. “I wouldn’t want to get in your way.”

“It’s a yes or no question,” he teased, poking the bit of exposed shoulder through the widening hole in Sirius’ under armor.

“I…” He faltered, then the corner of his mouth twitched up. It was the closest thing James had seen to a smile from him yet. One point for Potter. “Sure, Pots. Thanks.”

“No problem. Meet me at my car in five or so, yeah?”

“D’accord.”

“Oho, fancy French,” James laughed, turning back to unlace his skates.

It wasn’t until thirty seconds after Sirius left the room that he remembered he never told the rookie what his car looked like. Horrible, terrible visions of the poor guy wandering around the parking lot—or, god forbid, thinking James had left without him—flashed through his mind. It would undo everything he had been working so hard to build.

“Shit,” he hissed under his breath as he shoved his gear into his duffel with reckless abandon and hurried out of the locker room. His legs would be stiff from trying to run so soon after a grueling drill practice, but it was worth it to save his friend. “Rookie? Hey, Sirius, you still here?”

There was no response. James cursed again and made a beeline for the door to the parking lot. Please, God, don’t let him get lost. I need him to trust me.

“Oh, thank fuck,” he panted as he burst out onto the half-frozen concrete.

Sirius looked up from his phone with a strange expression. “Are you okay?”

“Thought I lost you for a sec.”

“You said to meet at your car, yes?” He glanced between James and the car in sudden worry.

“Yeah, yes, absolutely, I just—” He made an aborted gesture and dug his keys out of his pocket. “I realized I forgot to tell you which one is mine.”

Sirius blinked at him. “I know what your car looks like.”

“How?”

“Because you drive it here every single day and you gave me a ride three weeks ago.”

‘Dumbass’ went unsaid, but James could feel it hanging in the air. He coughed lightly. “Right. Anyway, you can toss your bag wherever and hop in the passenger seat. My place isn’t far from here.”

Sirius took his duffel as he unlocked the car and settled both in the trunk with more care than James’ poor, battered bag had ever seen in its life. That was another thing that confused him about Sirius Black—he was so careful. He walked quietly for someone so tall, and each movement seemed pre-planned.

Each movement, that is, until he tried to get in the car. “Uh, Pots?”

“That’s m—oh.” James covered his mouth to stifle his laughter as Sirius tried to fold himself into the passenger seat and failed miserably. “I’m sorry, my girlfriend was sitting there last. Uh, there’s a lever on your right—yeah, there, just give it a pull and—”

With a harsh ka-chunk, the seat slid all the way back. Both men froze. It took everything in James’ power not to burst out laughing at the deer-in-headlights shock on Sirius’ face.

“Yep, that one,” he managed. “Nice job.”

They drove in relative quiet—James chattered on about weekend plans and hummed to the radio while Sirius watched out the window with the occasional monosyllable response. It took James a bit by surprise how comfortable he was, even without a steady stream of banter. Sirius might have been stubborn and silent and determined to foil all James’ plans at getting him to socialize, but he was calming to be near, like an anchor on unsteady water. Despite his overall quiet air, he was obviously paying attention to every word that left James’ mouth.

“You’re a good guy, y’know that?” he said as they turned onto his street. Sirius glanced over in surprise. “Most people tune me out within, like, five minutes.”

“I’m a good listener.”

James opened his mouth to respond, then paused. “Was that—Sirius Black, was that a joke?”

Something akin to mischief—mischief!—crossed his face. “Maybe.”

“Were you roasting me?” James gaped at him. “Oh my god. The guys are never gonna believe this.”

“Probably not.”

“You sick bastard. They won’t believe me.”

“You can give it a shot,” Sirius said with a shrug as the engine turned off. Pieces began to connect in James’ head as he stared, incredulous, at the rookie he thought would never even crack a smile. Four months of work had not been wasted, as he had feared; every joke, every one-sided conversation, and every attempt to get Sirius involved had been seen and heard and taken to heart. When he thought about it, he wasn’t sure he had ever seen Sirius actively agree to something unless James asked personally.

“We’re friends,” he said aloud, too surprised and too happy to hold it in. Not friends in the way James was with the rest of their loud, over-the-top teammates, but friends all the same.

“Well, yeah,” Sirius said as if it was obvious.

James unbuckled his seatbelt and socked him lightly on the shoulder, barely suppressing a shriek of excitement. “Love you, man. Grab your shit, we’ve got a party to set up.”

----------------

As much as it pained James to say it, having someone around who was six-foot-three was a huge help. There was no blow to his pride as he dragged Lily’s stepstool out; no grudging acceptance that he simply couldn’t reach those last two inches on the wall. Instead, he could foist any and all responsibility on his brand-new best friend in the whole wide world and focus on the things that mattered, like putting anything breakable or important far away from the grubby hands of his inebriated teammates.

His success was still ringing in his ears when the guests finally arrived—throughout the evening, James rode the high of accomplishing his mission to pull Sirius Black into his tight-knit circle. Every minute of those four months was worth it.

Midnight came and went, and by one-thirty in the morning James’ cramped living room was packed with tipsy hockey players in a vague imitation of a circle. “Non, non, I’ve gotta good one,” Dumo said, hiccupping. The room fell quiet as he leaned forward. “What do you call a body of water with a chicken in it?”

“What?” Kasey whispered, starry-eyed like a kid at Christmas.

“A swimming pool.”

The room stayed quiet, and then someone started to laugh. Slowly, they all turned to the source of the noise, and James felt a ripple of shock roll through the team as Sirius snorted. “It’s a swimming pool,” he said around a smile, his accent thick from three drinks. He had a nice laugh; James could get used to hearing it. “Like—poule, like chicken?”

His whole face was alight with happiness. James wasn’t sure whether to cry or cheer. That’s what I’ve been waiting for, he thought. That look, right there. Sirius fit in among the group like a missing piece of their puzzle, snickering away as if he hadn’t been stoically silent a day in his life. His laugh was downright bubbly.

“I don’t think they get it,” Dumo said into the rim of his cup.

Sirius shook his head, trying to catch his breath. “D’accord, so—so ‘chicken’ in French is poule, yeah? So a chicken in a body of water is a swimming poule. Do you get it now?”

A few oh’s of understanding washed over them, but several people continued to stare. “Too drink for this,” Sergei grumbled, though James could see the smile pulling at his mouth as Sirius turned to him with bright eyes.

“But it’s funny!” Sirius protested, so earnest it made James’ heart hurt.

“I think it’s funny, rookie,” he assured him with a clumsy pat on the arm. “And it’s my house, so I say Dumo gets a point this round.”

Kasey hiccupped. “Hey, anyone who makes the rookie laugh gets points in my book. No offense, dude.”

“None taken,” Sirius said, though his cheeks were pink.

James nudged him with his shoulder as Talker started a knock-knock joke. “It’s okay,” he said under his breath.

Sirius picked at the label on his cup. “I know I haven’t been very social,” he muttered.

“It’s okay,” James insisted. “It always takes rookies a while to warm up, so we’re just glad you’re happy. I’m glad my best friend is having a good time at my party.”

A heavy silence fell between them as Sirius looked over, eyebrows raised. “Best friend?”

“What, like you didn’t see this coming?” James slung an arm over his shoulder. “Yes, you French-Canadian nerd, you’re my best friend. And that means I’m your best friend, and there’s no take-backsies.”

“What the hell is a take-backsie?” Sirius laughed. “Did you make that up?”

James grinned. He had the feeling this was the beginning of an excellent friendship.

[futurebicon]

Guess what time it is?

That’s right another adorable Coops article.

Today let’s look at 5 times big tough Captain Black and Remus Lupin made our hearts melt

1. The Ever Feared Dunk Tank

Getting dunked in a dunk tank can cause life long grudges. Even when it’s your own husband.

Editors Note- In the video the Lions were doing a charity carnival for the Trevor Project. link here if you would like to donate.

[Video: Sirius sitting on top of a dunk tank in Gryffindor Lions swim trunks. James, Finn, and Kasey off to the side soaking wet and wrapped in towels.

Sirius’s face fell as Remus grabbed a baseball.

“Remus if you hit it you’re sleeping on the couch.” He said as Remus threw the ball like a baseball pitcher. Immediately hitting the red target.

“Sorry, baby,” Remus smiled as Sirius stood up in the tank and wiped the water off his face and shook out his hair.]

Bonus picture-

@RemusLupin

Sorry, sweetheart

[Photo: Sirius in one of Remus’s old high school hockey hoodies, hair still wet, sleeping on Remus’s chest. Both of them wrapped in a blanket.]

2. Them being scarily in synch

[Video: Sirius and Remus walking down the tunnel for a game in synch.

Sirius and Remus sitting on the bench, looking over to the left, then on the ice, then down at the exact same time.

Skating during a game passing the puck back and forth in a mirror image of the other.

Both of them turning to look at the camera.

Saying and nodding yes at the same time.

Shrugging their shoulders.

Sitting on opposite sides of the bench and taking a drink of water at the same time, same angle, and same speed.]

3. When Remus comforted him during Sirius’s interview about his parents

[Video: “So yeah that kind of sucked.” Sirius laughed nervously, kicking one of the legs of the stools as he looked at the ground.

There was movement and Remus came into view, walking over and hugging his husband, tears falling slowly down his face.]

4. These two tiktoks. That’s all. Just these two tiktoks.

[Video 1: Remus laying in bed, blushing. The camera panned over to Sirius who was sitting up with his laptop open in front of him with a iPad and notebook on his lap. Sirius turned around and smiled at him before going back to watching the other teams tapes.

“He just seggs and now he’s going over plays for the game next week.” Were the words above him.]

[Video 2: Sirius laying on the bed with red cheeks and messed up hair. The camera turned to Remus who was laying on his back with his phone sideways in his hands.

“He just railed me and is now watching videos about people getting murdered” were the words above his head.]

5. Remus calming Sirius

[Video: Sirius yelling at another team player from the bench. Remus grabbed his arm when he stood up and whispered something in his ear. He sat back down and calmed down immediately]

Sirius Black Reads Thirst Tweets

Sirius Black Answers Questions While Playing With Puppies

Favorite Coop Moments

Sirius Black and Regulus Black Speak Out About Their Childhood

Sirius Black, Pascal Dumais, and Logan Tremblay Play ‘How Well Do I Know You’

Sirius Black and Remus Lupin Auto Complete Interview

@lumosinlove

Damn the ending is rushed.

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