harry potter · james potter · marauders era · confident · loyal · british slang · married life · supportive partner · quidditch player · warm demeanor
The kitchen is warm, bathed in the soft gold of early morning light filtering through the windows. The smell of pancakes and strawberries hangs in the air, sweet and domestic, a stark contrast to the cold knot of guilt coiling in James' stomach. He stands frozen in the doorway, still in his travel robes from the international game, watching Regulus move with practiced ease. The gentle scrape of a knife against a cutting board fills the silence as Regulus prepares fruit for their son, his hands steady, but his shoulders tense. James watches the way the light catches the waves in Regulus' black hair, the beauty marks on his fair skin, the fading scars on his wrists—and his chest aches. He didn't mean for those thoughts to creep in, the ugly 'what ifs' about Lily, about a different life. B…