Chapter Text
Wednesday, 3:10 pm - Westminster, London
Five months. It had now been five whole months since James, with the help of Remus and the others, had saved the city from a vengeful attack by a delusional terrorist group...and no one knew about it except him and those who had been there that night. Not a single person in London had any idea of the danger they had been in and how they had all narrowly avoided disaster. No one had thanked James and no one had shown him any gratitude. But that wasn't the point.
It had never been about this for James and he hadn't become Spider-Man to be a hero or to be famous or to be admired and adored. No, he had decided to use his powers to help people who couldn't protect themselves and it didn't matter whether people loved him or hated him or wanted to drive him out of the city. The fact that the people he cared about and loved were safe was enough, and who needed a hooting, cheering crowd when you had friends who believed in you?
And last but not least, being a hero also meant having to make sacrifices and if you played by the rules and fought for good and justice, then you always had to pay a price. In this case, the price of saving an entire city had been two weeks of house arrest because Effie had been worried sick because she hadn't been able to reach James, Sirius or Regulus for hours.
And the excuse James had presented her with had been anything but credible.
If she could, she would have certainly grounded Sirius and Regulus as well, but the feelings of guilt that the two brothers had because Effie had already been on the verge of alerting the police were ultimately punishment enough in her eyes. And the two weeks of house arrest were over in an instant and life went on as if the fight against Voldemort and his crazy, silver-masked Death Eaters had been just a very wild, very strange dream. An almost everyday calm returned. Things were...normal.
Well, as normal as they could be for someone like James and of course there were plenty of criminals to catch, robberies to prevent and old ladies to help across the street. But the life-threatening supervillains who would coldly put a freaking bullet into your skull stayed gone and James could almost have found it boring, but he preferred it a hundred times that way and days turned into weeks and weeks finally turned into months.
And suddenly it seemed as if the world had changed, doing a complete 360 and James was in his last year of school, graduation in June was getting closer and closer and everyone was suddenly asking him questions about what he planned to study and what he wanted to do with his future life. And James didn't have any answers because...he just didn't know. It sounded silly, but somehow he never thought that this time would ever end, that the day would come when he would set foot in this school one last time and that things would be different.
It felt like he had skipped several chapters to get to the end of the book and James didn't feel ready, wasn't prepared for the unknown ending that now awaited him. For some reason, he had thought he had more time and now he had to think about what kind of job he wanted and which university would suit him best. Sometimes he didn't even know what socks he wanted to wear in the morning, so how the fuck was he supposed to know what he wanted to do with his life?
But it wasn't just the impending arrival of adulthood that scared the shit out of James because the issue with Regulus was much more serious and fundamental. Not that things weren't going absolutely fantastic between them, because they were, and James would be happy if he could waste the rest of his days just being Regulus' boyfriend, but unfortunately it had been brought to his attention that Regulus was a year younger than him, which meant he wouldn't be graduating with James. And this terrible realization had in turn triggered a whole new downward mental spiral.
James wasn't ready for a long-distance relationship or anything like that and he also had no idea how studying or getting a real job would be compatible with continuing to be Spider-Man because he didn't want to give that up under any circumstances and yet... James saw himself faced with an almost insurmountable tightrope and he knew he wouldn't be able to stop all the changes, but that didn't make it any less scary.
To say that all this crap was stressing him out would have been a giant understatement, because his mind never seemed to take even the shortest break, not allowing James to take a breath or focus on anything else because the moment he would be standing in front of this great, uncertain nothingness was moving inexorably closer. Maybe it would have calmed him down a little if he hadn't been the only one who was freaking out like that, but the others didn't seem to be in a similar existential crisis.
Dorcas and Lily even knew which universities they were going to attend and what courses they were going to take. It was almost incomprehensible to James how one could have such control over their still unformed future, but perhaps that was simply because Lily and Dorcas generally always had everything under control and were not such uncoordinated disasters on two legs like James. Jesus Christ, how the heck had he managed to avoid being hit by a bus or something until now?
"I'm just saying, if you want to study economics or business management, the Imperial College is probably your best choice.", Lily said as they headed towards the exit after the bell had sounded to save them from Slughorn's endless, boring chatter about galvanic isolation. "Yeah, yeah but wouldn't the London School of Economics and Political Science make more sense? They specialize in that.", Dorcas replied thoughtfully, her eyebrows narrowed in concentration, which always made her look a little like she was secretly planning someone's demise.
At least if you would've asked James. According to Marlene, the little wrinkle that appeared on her forehead was supposedly cute, but James probably just lacked the imagination for that. Or it was because Dorcas simply wasn't his type. "Sure, but that could also limit you, don't you think? If you'd like to expand your field of study in a different direction for example.", Lily chattered cheerfully as Mary bounced up and down next to her, holding her hand and carrying her bag for her.
Since the two had become a couple, they were even more inseparable than before and Mary was clearly hopelessly infatuated with Lily, who in turn never missed an opportunity to lay the world at her girlfriend's feet. If it hadn't been for Marlene and Dorcas they would have undoubtedly won a prize for being the cutest lesbian couple at Pimlico Academy, but surprisingly the other two girls took that trophy away from them. James would never have thought it possible, but in each other's presence, Marlene and Dorcas became downright tame.
A realization that James wisely kept to himself, because if he said it out loud, Dorcas and Marlene would surely rip him apart and then scatter his remains across the schoolyard. Nevertheless, anyone who expected that the two of them would deliver an almost unstoppable, subtly intimidating power combo was...not entirely wrong, but it was still noticeable how soft Dorcas became when Marlene plopped down in her lap during breaks or how Marlen giggled when Dorcas pushed an unruly strand of hair out of her face and then kissed her on the cheek.
"And I always thought you would want to study at Oxford.", Marlene mused, tilting her head back as they stepped outside, catching the last warm rays of the late summer that autumn had to offer. "The University of Oxford is made up of over 39 individual colleges, darling.", Dorcas corrected her gently, poking her nose and Marlene shrugged before she began to rummage through her backpack for her sunglasses. "I also think Oxford is overrated. Just because it's the most well-known doesn't mean it's automatically the best choice.", Evan added, arms linked with Pandora.
"You're only saying that because your dad wants you to go there.", Dorcas replied casually and Evan made a face before jutting out his chin and turning his head to the side. "That is a completely separate, unrelated and independent fact, but feel free to draw your conclusions.", he mumbled snidely and Dorcas' lips curled into a mischievous grin. It was still strange to see the four of them without Barty, who had somehow always made their group complete, but at least he had stopped his criminal activities.
He also provocation towards the police to a minimum, which not only made James sleep more peacefully but also did wonders for Evan's inconsistent stress level. "Are you going to do what your dad has planned for you?", Peter asked, handing Pandora the last of the biscuits that he had baked and brought to school with him today. "I don't know...maybe? He is so used to planning everything for me and unfortunately, I am used to just obeying him. Even when I want something totally different...", Evan groaned, whereupon Sirius swung an arm around him from behind.
"Mate, it seems to me that you really need some help when it comes to teenage disobedience." "Hmm, when it comes to disappointing your own parents, Sirius is an expert.", Regulus agreed with his older brother, who had clearly noticed that it was meant as an insult, but chose to ignore it. "Anyway, standing up to bossy mothers and fathers requires assertiveness, stubbornness and a touch of rebellion, but if you're ever interested in expanding your skills in this area, don't hesitate to ask me.", he elaborated cockily and Evan shook his head, laughing gently.
James never expected it, but in fact, Sirius and Evan got along surprisingly well. Since he and Regulus had been together, their friend groups had somehow started to melt together and, like when different predators' territories merged, new interesting dynamics had developed between them. At least that's how Regulus had described it and James had been a little confused by the metaphor, but it was probably because they had watched an animal documentary together on BBC Earth the night before.
Well, it turned out that Peter had a similar nerdy passion for chemistry as Regulus, that Lily liked the same books as Dorcas, and that Mary often bought jewellery from Pandora's Etsy shop. And if Barty were here, he and Marlene would certainly have been able to bond over their shared hatred of the government and society. "Honestly, I'm glad I can at least enjoy my last year at this school without your bad influence.", Regulus continued to tease and it was obviously a joke, but of course, James' stupid brain was currently wired differently.
That's why his mind immediately provided him with hundreds of scenarios of how the relationship between him and Regulus would break down because they couldn't graduate at the same time. It caught him off-guard, as if out of nowhere, like a trip wire had suddenly been strung and that's why James promptly ran into a trash can, stumbled and would probably have fallen if Regulus, who had been holding his hand the whole time, hadn't caught him. "Woah, hey! Are you okay?"
"Uh yeah, I uh...tripped.", James said, forcedly relaxed but immensely ashamed inside, though luckily he could count on Marlene in moments like these. "Wow, what are you wearing those glasses for, huh?", she joked harmlessly, not knowing that James was actually only wearing them because he felt naked without them, as the spider bite had corrected his poor eyesight...among other physical changes.
"I was just...thinking.", James said nonchalantly, or at least tried to, but Regulus had narrowed his eyebrows and was studying him, apparently looking for something that would tell him what was really going on. And it wasn't that James didn't think he could talk to Regulus about this, but there was this little nagging fear that Regulus would find his concerns ridiculous, so he kept his mouth shut instead of unnecessarily raising a fuss.
However, if he did start to pester him later, which was apparently one of Regulus' favourite pastimes, he could easily claim it was because he found it difficult to double-track in the sense that some of his friends knew that he was Spider-Man and the other part was still being left in the dark. Or he could try to blame it on Mulciber, but that would hardly work since he and the rest of his embarrassing entourage of would-be bullies had largely left them alone for months now.
James suspected it was because there were now too many of them and it was no longer as easy to pick out individual victims to pick on. Still, even without all of that, there were still a million reasons why James' mind seemed to be on a constant roller coaster lately, and perhaps his worries were stupid and unfounded, but what would happen if his and Regulus' lives began to develop into two completely different directions? There was no denying that they were opposites, and that had always been part of the appeal for James, but what if it was ultimately the death knell for them?
Sure, his hormone-soaked teenage brain was certainly over-dramatizing the whole thing, but still, James couldn't even bear the mere idea of losing Regulus. He meant everything to him and sometimes, when Regulus curled up next to him, dozing like a cat, his head resting on James' chest, he firmly believed that should the moment ever come when he would no longer be allowed to love Regulus, he wouldn't be able to keep breathing and just straight up die...yeah, not dramatic at all.
"James." James blinked a few times, vaguely noticing the dull, throbbing pain in his shin, and then scratched the back of his head, somewhat sheepishly. "Uh...yeah?" "Dude, weren't you listening to us or what?", Sirius grumbled with a violent eye roll and James pressed his lips together guiltily. "Was it important?" "Excuse me, I'm your best friend. When I talk, it's always important and it's basically the law that you listen to me.", Sirius complained, skillfully tossing back his black hair, which had now become noticeably longer and now it was Regulus who rolled his eyes.
"Blimey, if I were forced to listen to you 24/7 I would have already pulled a Van Gogh." "You would chop off your bloody ears just to avoid having to listen to me?!", Sirius screeched, clutching his chest dramatically and Regulus gave a surprised-sounding hum. "I didn't think you knew who Van Gogh was." "Well, unlike you, I don't always switch gears when you're talking! I'm listening, you know?!", Sirius barked, puffing himself up and he probably could've gone on about it forever if Peter hadn't drawn attention to Remus at that moment, who was leaning against the school gate.
Waiting and quietly observing the whole thing with a slight smirk on his face. Seemingly momentarily torn between the longing for his boyfriend and the inviting temptation to strangle his younger brother, Sirius glanced between Remus and Regulus before huffing and turning on his heel and strutting away at a brisk pace, straight into Remus' open arms. "Do you really mute him when he talks to you?", James whispered, leaning slightly towards Regulus, who then shrugged.
"Only when he gets upset for the hundredth time about how shitty the last season of 'Games of Thrones' was. I mean, it's been five years, shouldn't he be getting over it?", he sighed and James pulled him closer, pressing his lips gently against Regulus' temple. "A bad finale can completely ruin a good series." "Oh, believe me, I know that. I forced myself through nine seasons of 'How I Met Your Mother' only for Ted to run back to Robin at the end.", Regulus grumbled sullenly and James chuckled quietly.
Because no matter how much the Black brothers might insist that they weren't similar, it was still undeniable that they both had a secret fondness for sitcoms, which they always watched together, almost religiously. "Goodness gracious, I'm surrounded only by horny couples making out, I'm lucky that Barty isn't here, otherwise I would probably already be deeply traumatized.", Peter whined, gesturing helplessly towards Sirius and Remus, who were still hugging each other, standing at the gate and who had apparently decided to set a new record for long-term kissing.
"Oi, Barty isn't that bad.", Evan protested and Dorcas gave him a doubtful look over her shoulder. "Oh come on, we all know that you're going to go and shag him later." "That...that's not true at all!", Evan squeaked, blushing instantly and Pandora started to giggle. "If it's not true, then why are you so upset, huh?" "Not you too, Dora.", Evan murmured and Pandora patted him lovingly on the head, as one might do with a sad little puppy.
"Hey, you lovebirds! Don't forget that we still have a date tonight, okay?!", Peter shouted loudly so that Sirius winced and pulled away from Remus, making an annoyed gesture to make it clear to him that it was unnecessary to remind him. "Don't worry Pete, we won't be late.", Remus assured, his hands on Sirius' hips and Peter pursed his lips. "I highly doubt that, but sure, keep telling yourself that.", Peter breathed with deep disappointment and Sirius gave him the middle finger before Remus, grabbing his chin, pulled him into another kiss.
"Ugh, why do I have to keep enduring this?", Regulus gagged, ostentatiously covering his eyes and James took his hands with a smile. "Oh come on, Sirius also puts up with you making out with me.", he said, nudging Regulus' nose with his own and Regulus' lips curled up in that cute way when he tried to suppress a smile. The group then dispersed, Sirius went with Remus to his and Regulus' flat, while Regulus went with James to his house, because it had quickly become an unspoken rule that they would never all meet together anywhere.
At least not just the four of them, because then making out was basically impossible because Sirius was unnecessarily trying to protect Regulus' honour and Regulus found it disturbing to watch Sirius stick his tongue down Remus' throat. "Hello sweeties, how was school?", Effie called from the kitchen as soon as James had unlocked the front door and Regulus took off his coat, which he claimed he looked very mysterious in.
"It was okay, hey, can I borrow some money for later?", James asked, taking Regulus' backpack and Effie came into the hallway, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel that was smeared with flour. "Of course, but don't come back late, okay? You have school tomorrow.", she reminded, and what remained unsaid was the fact that James had to text every two hours since the house arrest in order to save his mother any more grey hairs.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure he's back home in time.", Regulus promised and Effie winked at him before she disappeared back into the kitchen from which a delicious scent wafted towards James. "Soooo, you're my good influence now, am I correct in assuming that?", he purred, teasingly poking Regulus in the side and he grabbed his wrists and pulled him towards the stairs. "Oh no darling, I'm going to corrupt you right down to your very core.", he whispered and James felt like he'd touched an electrified fence because a shiver rushed down his spine and shot straight to his groin.
"Oh, love, you shouldn't make promises like that.", James whispered back and simply threw Regulus over his shoulder. "Woah, hey! James, put me down, you idiot!", he laughed, unconvincingly punching him and James ran up the stairs with him, of course always careful not to trip or accidentally drop Regulus. "You're mad!", Regulus giggled as James threw him onto the bed in his room and the mattress gave way with a squeak. "Yeah, madly in love with you.", James chuckled, covering Regulus' face with kisses.
Regulus wrapped his arms around him, giving in to the kisses and tilting his head back to give James access to his neck. "Do you know how much nonsense you talk sometimes?", Regulus sighed, his eyes closed, which didn't really help convey that he was supposedly annoyed. Because James knew each of Regulus' facets when it came to annoyance, each of which could only be distinguished by small, subtle differences, and right now his words had absolutely no bite because he was far too turned on.
It was the details that allowed James to decipher this code, as if he were discovering and learning an entirely new alien language, and each step brought him closer to actually understanding Regulus. Although a small part of him would probably remain an unsolved mystery forever, that too had its own charm. "I know, but I also know that there are things that you like hearing me say.", James breathed, pressing his mouth against Regulus' neck so he could feel his pulse pounding against his lips.
"For example, when I say that you are beautiful or that I adore you or when I call you mine. Mine, mine, mine...mine all alone." "I love being yours...", Regulus whined, breath hitching in his throat, hands flat on James' back, feeling the muscles move under his shirt before moving up to his his hair and digging into his curls. And when Regulus pulled it lightly, a quiet moan escaped James, but one that Regulus could still easily hear, and goosebumps spread over Regulus' entire body and he wrapped his legs around James' waist.
It was far from the first time that a few kisses had turned into a full-on make-out session, but James couldn't help but notice that this still felt different somehow, as if they had just gone the extra mile together. They had never talked about whether and when and how they wanted to have sex, because the fact that they wanted each other had always been unspoken and in the beginning, shagging hadn't been an option anyway, because Regulus was still inexperienced and James had inevitably always thought of Sirius.
Not in an erotic or sexy way, just to be clear. More of a 'holy shit I'm groping my best friend's little brother' kind of way. But since graduation was fast approaching and the end of their time at school together was in sight, something had changed and it wasn't that James was afraid of missing something or not being able to catch up later. Rather, it had been the banal realization that soon they would no longer be children in the eyes of society, that they would be adults, and besides, James was just a man with feelings and out-of-control hormones and Regulus was beautiful.
Hardly anyone could blame him for wanting to drive him crazy in any way he could. Preferably in James' bed and with James' own hands.
"James...", Regulus moaned, and the whimper in the back of Regulus' throat sent James' pulse through the roof. He would probably have simply torn Regulus' school uniform shirt off his body if the door hadn't opened at that moment. "If you're hungry, you can...oh!" "Mum!" James rolled off Regulus so quickly that he stumbled backwards and into his closet, and Regulus frantically grabbed for something to cover himself, but only found one of James' boxers lying crumpled between the pillows, which made the situation even more awkward.
"Couldn't you have knocked?", James hissed desperately, glancing at Regulus, who suddenly seemed very interested in the fibres of the sheets he was sitting on and whose cheeks had turned an alarming shade of red. "Well, you could have locked the door or hung a sock on the doorknob...or whatever you kids do these days to show that you're busy..." "Mum! Please!", James interrupted Effie with a vigorous wave of his hand and Effie pressed her lips together, but couldn't quite hide her smile.
"It's alright, I'm just saying that it's nothing to be ashamed of.", she said, pushing a dark brown curl behind her ear and then retreating. "I just wanted to let you know that if you want, you can grab something to eat before you head out.", she added casually before slowly closing the door, and James held out his thumb in a wordless gesture of acknowledgement. "Fuck...", Regulus groaned, falling back onto the bed with both arms covering his face. "I don't think I'll ever recover from this..."
"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad. At least she didn't catch us having sex.", James said, trying to sound cool, but he didn't really succeed and Regulus looked up at him sullenly. "Yes, and that will never happen, because now every time we make out I'll have to think of Effie." "Still better than if you thought about your own mother.", James replied with a casual shrug as Regulus's jaw dropped. "You...y-you arse! Are you fucking serious?!", he huffed and James flashed him a big grin.
"Oh hell no, say it and I'll break up with you right here and now.", Regulus threatened, but James just hopped over to him, leaned down and kissed the tip of his nose. "I'll go do my usual patrol and then we'll meet up with the others, okay?" "Alright, be careful.", Regulus warned like he always did, and then he hooked his pinky into James' belt loop and pulled him into a deep kiss that almost made James not leave at all. But this city still needed him, because just because he had stopped Voldemort and his small terrorist organization didn't mean that London was now crime-free.
So he put on his suit, climbed out the window and swung away. That evening, however, it was quiet and apart from a few minor incidents that were hardly worth mentioning, nothing happened that was of any interest to James. Looking back, he would later regret that assessment and blame himself for not being more attentive, but right now he had too many other things on his mind and when he reached 'The Crooked Well' at 16 Grove Lane, the others were already waiting for him.
"Sorry, am I late?", he asked, discreetly stuffing his mask into his backpack and Regulus linked his arms with him, shaking his head. "Sirius and Remus also just showed up.", he said, almost a bit accusingly, and then gave his brother a sharp look, which he countered by sticking out his tongue. "Come on, let's go inside. I'm hungry and they supposedly have the best roast pork in South London.", Peter chimed in and the five of them entered the pub, which Peter had specially chosen because minors were also allowed there.
Inside, the floor was covered with wooden boards, chairs and tables didn't match, and the wallpaper on almost every wall had a different pattern. It all seemed a bit thrown together and the lamps looked like the owners had stolen them from a factory, string lights hung over the fireplace in the corner and plants hung in pots from the ceiling. "So, I heard Effie caught you making out?", Peter asked as if he was asking about the weather, and James almost caught his foot on one of the table legs in shock.
"W-What? You told him?", James whispered frantically, looking at Regulus with wide eyes, who promptly scowled. "Wrong, I confided in Sirius about that and forgot that my older brother is a terrible gossip.", he said caustically, but Sirius just shrugged his shoulders, as if Regulus should have known better. "Pete is basically part of the family. I can't possibly keep something like that a secret from him."
"Oh yeah? Do you also please him with all the details of your sex life with Remus?", Regulus replied challengingly and Sirius opened his mouth, no doubt ready with a quick-witted answer, but Remus intervened. "Hey, look, that table over there by the window looks good, doesn't it?" He pulled Sirius along by the sleeve, gently but firmly, and James put an arm around Regulus' shoulders. "Don't worry Reggie, I have it on good authority that Sirius and Remus haven't done it yet either.", he said and Regulus silently raised an eyebrow before a hint of a smug smile crossed his face.
Not that this was a race to see who was no longer a virgin first and it wasn't that they felt like they had to prove anything to anyone, but especially at their age, sex was such an important and prominent topic that there was virtually no escape and sooner or later you had to deal with it. Well, that was true for most of James' friends, but not for Peter, who seemed to have decided not to give such things a second thought and was already busy studying the menu in detail. "Do you want snacks? The Gildas here are supposed to be really good.", he said and James instantly shuddered.
"Whoever came up with the idea of combining olives and squid should be locked away.", he mumbled and Regulus looked up from his menu. "You don't like olives?" "He hates them. He once accidentally almost inhaled one and that's why he now has an olive trauma.", Sirius commented with a mischievous grin, but Remus, on the other hand, nodded in understanding. "I feel you, man. I once had a very fatal event involving asparagus and I've been avoiding that stuff ever since.", he explained, causing Sirius to lean over to him, resting his chin on his shoulder.
"You definitely have to tell me that story later.", he begged, putting on that puppy-dog look that could bring almost anyone to their knees and Remus was no exception. Ultimately, James and Peter ordered the roast beef sandwich, Regulus chose the pork ragout, Remus the stew with rice and Sirius decided to try the Gildas, but also ordered the chips and homemade pickles to be on the safe side. "You don't even like fish, so why are you ordering a skewer that's 80 percent seafood?", Remus asked, shaking his head, torn between incomprehension and amusement.
"Because you have to try new things in life, Moony.", Sirius stated pompously, even though he was the one who had been using the same shampoo for ten years and refused to try any other brand. "Moony?", Peter repeated his eyebrows raised so high that they nearly disappeared beneath his fringe and Sirius blushed but tried his best to pretend that he hadn't just slipped something very intimate. "My nickname for him.", he said and Peter exchanged a meaningful look with James and Regulus.
"Everyone has nicknames for their partner, but usually it's something like sweetheart, darling or baby...", James listed, well aware of the fact that he had used all of these nicknames for Regulus many times before, who now leaned forward with interest and pushed the decoration on the table aside. "Why do you call him Moony, huh?" "I don't think that's any of your business. I'm not asking why you put James as 'Sunflower' on your phone either, do I?", Sirius replied stroppily, crossing his arms stubbornly over his chest, while Remus, holding his hand, struggled not to start laughing.
"You don't have to ask because it's obvious, but I'm curious. What does Remus have to do with the moon?", Regulus continued, unwilling to give up and James knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't stop asking until he had an answer that satisfied him. "I thought you weren't interested in my boring relationship stuff." "I'm not, but I still want to know." "Nope." It was like a tennis match and the ball kept flying back and forth between the two of them, and James wondered who would win and perhaps he would have even made a bet with Peter if Remus hadn't spoken up.
"He calls me that because in his eyes I hung the moon." Sirius' blush returned with full force and Regulus lowered the index finger that he had just raised threateningly. "Wow. That's...so cute I want to vomit.", he groaned, sinking into James' chest. But Regulus could emphasize as often and as loudly as he wanted that he detested romance and kitsch, but the truth was quite different and no matter how much he complained about how often Sirius brought Remus into their shared flat, James knew that he was happy for them.
Because Remus made Sirius happy and after all, that was exactly what Regulus wanted for his brother. That he was happy.
So they ordered the citrus sorbet for dessert and shared it and talked about what kind of nickname they could give Sirius and Regulus finally suggested 'Padfoot' since Sirius had been obsessed with a black, stray dog as a child that had always secretly sneaked into the small garden behind their parents' house. "Well, now you need one too.", Sirius said and while it got dark outside the pub began to vibrate more and more with the clinking of glasses and the laughter of the other guests.
They continued to talk and James didn't know how, but at some point, Peter started comparing him to a stag. Sirius promptly gave him the nickname 'Prongs', which of course everyone immediately took over for their contacts on their phones. It was only when Remus glanced at his watch that they realized what time it actually was and James remembered the promise he had made to his mother.
They split the bill, grabbed their jackets and stepped out into the clear, crisp evening air that already seemed to herald winter and James slipped his fingers between Regulus'. "By the way...have you guys already thought about what you want to do after school?", Peter asked as they stood under the yellow light of one of the street lamps and suddenly the knot in James' chest had returned.