Chapter Text
"James."
"Mm?"
"How do you do this?"
"Yeah, Marls, sounds good," James replied.
Something smacked into his arm. "James."
"What?"
"You're not listening to me," Marlene whined. Dorcas, next to her, hid a smile against Marlene's hair.
"Sorry," James said sincerely. "I'm listening now."
Marlene grinned. "Great! You're the best. Okay, so how do you make those tiny fireworks you did last week? They were super cool."
"Oh. You just cast a color-shifting charm with regular fireworks and think about the shape you want - guide it with your mind."
Marlene lifted her wand, and then hesitated. "Should this be an outside activity?"
"Yes," Dorcas said.
At the same time, James shrugged. "Does it matter?"
Marlene looked torn.
"Please," Dorcas added. "I don't want to smell like smoke all night."
James shrugged again. "Suit yourself."
"You do smell good right now," Marlene mumbled, leaning further into her girlfriend. "Like cinnamon."
"What's got you all distracted anyway?"
James shook his head. "Just a guy I've liked for a while."
"A guy?" Dorcas asked. She sounded vaguely surprised, but then nodded thoughtfully. "A guy. Yeah, that makes sense."
James wasn't sure what to do with that, so he didn't. "Yeah."
"So who's the guy?"
James hesitated, sharing a brief look with Marlene. "He's - er. He doesn't like me."
"That doesn't answer my question," Dorcas pointed out. "So you don't want to tell me." She watched James carefully. "But Marlene knows."
James glanced at Marlene, confused.
"I didn't-"
"I know," he assured her.
"I can tell," Dorcas told them. She kissed the top of Marlene's hair, and then raised one hand to her lips. "Marls?"
"Yeah?"
"Why is there glitter in your hair?"
Marlene paused for a second before grinning. "Oh, yeah! Sirius and I were -"
"Enough said." Dorcas nodded. "That boy and glitter. It's a wonder Remus doesn't look like a mirrorball."
"A what?" James asked.
"A mirrorball. It's a muggle thing - you'll love it, actually, it spreads light and color everywhere," Dorcas told him. "You should ask Lily about it." She pressed another kiss to her girlfriends head. "Anyway. You were just talking about how you don't trust me with your secret crush."
"It's not that," James protested. "I trust you. It's just -" he stopped. "I do trust you. But I can't tell you about him."
"Because I know him?" Dorcas asked. Her eyes narrowed in thought. "And I'm close with him, or you wouldn't be worried."
"I'm not worried," James said.
"Then you've calculated the odds and decided that it's not worth the risk," Dorcas replied.
James kept quiet.
"Thought so." Dorcas hummed. "It could be Barty."
She was testing. James had seen Regulus, Sirius, and Evan do it before. Saying something to get a reaction, and then going off of it to find out what she needed.
Unfortunately for her, James was good at being what he wanted to be. Most of the time, he wanted to be himself.
But right now, he needed to be unreadable.
So he smiled. "It could be," he agreed. "Except that Barty is dating Evan, and doesn't like me."
"Barty likes you fine," Dorcas disagreed, and then gave him a considering look. "Not romantically, as far as I know. But he is a lot like Sirius."
James kept his smile. "That's a good observation."
"Wouldn't Regulus be more like Sirius?' Marlene asked, and then winced, sending James an apologetic look.
Thankfully, Dorcas couldn't see that from her position. "No," she said. "Regulus is nothing like Sirius. He's -" she paused. "He's nothing like James, either."
James half-shrugged in agreement. "Probably good for him, honestly." And then, because he could and he really didn't need Dorcas to figure this out, he stood up. "See ya."
As he went up the stairs, he could just make out Marlene's question to her girlfriend.
"Isn't that what Barty always says?"
Chapter Text
James really needed Dorcas to drop this. It had been a week.
One week of deliberately not watching Regulus. One week of subtly copying Barty's mannerisms.
"Why are we watching Evan again?"
"Because Dorcas thinks I like Regulus," James mumbled. "And she's watching me."
"But you do like him," Sirius pointed out. "And Evan knows you're watching him."
"Yeah, I know," James lifted his hand in a wave.
Evan - though obviously confused - waved back.
Sirius hummed. "Dorcas is pretty smart. And she's with Marlene a lot."
"Marlene won't tell her," James said confidently. He watched as Evan took Barty's hand, and deliberately let his smile fall.
"You're good at this," Sirius commented.
James just shrugged. "Can't let her figure it out."
Sirius blew out a breath. "Tell me why again?"
James slumped against the bench. "It took ages to get him to be my friend," he reminded Sirius. "And even that's a bit up in the air. If he finds out I like him, he'll stop talking to me completely."
Sirius winced. "He might not -"
"I've seen it happen," James told him. "Remember that Ravenclaw bloke he used to study with?"
"Yeah?"
"He told Reg that he had a crush on him, and Regulus told him that he never wanted to see him again," James replied. He took a deep breath. "So he can't find out. Because I would rather have him as a friend than as nothing." He met Sirius's eyes. "I couldn't live with nothing."
So he'd pretend. And eventually, even Dorcas Meadowes would give up on figuring this out.
Chapter Text
"He likes you."
Regulus sighed. "Evidence?"
"He smiles when he talks to you."
"James smiles at everyone," he pointed out. "Try again."
"He - I know he likes you." Dorcas crossed her arms. "He's just hiding it."
"Maybe you should mess with him a bit," Barty suggested. "Flirt, touch, talk. Any of that."
"For all we know, he likes you," Regulus said, glaring just a little. "And no. I will not be making a fool of myself, thank you very much."
"He doesn't like me," Barty insisted. "It's Evan he's been staring at."
"Oi, we all know I'm not his type," Evan protested.
"What's his type, then?" Barty shot back.
"Social and smart," Evan replied. "As proven by Evans."
Which didn't help anyway, because Regulus wasn't social at all. But no one else seemed to be catching that bit.
Barty hummed. "Seems interesting that her name was Evans, doesn't it?"
"No." Evan rolled his eyes. "No one has a type based on names. That's not a thing."
Regulus fell back on his mattress. "Please shut up."
"Sure thing," Barty said quickly.
This was hopeless.
After a few minutes, Dorcas shifted. "Marlene has a journal."
"Okay?" Evan replied. "How does that help us?"
"Because Marlene only has a journal because James told her it helped him when he gets overwhelmed," Dorcas said slowly. "Which means he has one."
"That's it, then," Barty said. "We snatch the journal."
"No." Regulus sat up. "We do not snatch the journal. We leave it alone, because whatever he wrote in there is none of our business." He looked at Dorcas. "Don't take the journal."
Dorcas rolled her eyes. "Fine."
Regulus picked up a book, determined to think about something that wasn't James for a minute.
He wasn't successful.
Chapter Text
Dorcas walked up to Regulus's table at the library, glancing around just in case James was nearby. "Hey."
Regulus glanced up from his essay. "Hi."
"You've been practicing your Spanish, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Translate this for me." Dorcas slid the book across the table, thankful it didn't have any inscriptions on the outside cover. "The bookmarked page."
The whole thing - the entire thing - was written in Spanish. Which was smart, since pretty much no one in their circle knew Spanish. But Dorcas had found an entry from the day Regulus had fallen asleep in James's lap at a party, and there was sure to be something there.
Regulus frowned at the book. "I've seen this before."
"It's from Marlene," Dorcas told him. "She's trying to learn it, too."
Regulus reached over, not looking quite convinced. "If you need it translated, James is a better bet."
Dorcas sighed. "What? You can't do it?"
Regulus gave her a flat glare. "I didn't say that." Then he flipped it open to the bookmarked page.
And froze.
"Dorcas," he hissed.
Dorcas kept her expression innocent. "What?"
"This is James's handwriting," Regulus said quietly, his eyes darting around the room. "This is his journal."
Dorcas laughed. "No, it's not."
Regulus flipped it to the very first page, holding it so that they could both clearly see it.
Property of James Fleamont Potter
Dorcas winced. "Okay, so it's his journal."
Regulus looked a bit homicidal. "I told you -"
He cut off suddenly, expression going blank.
Dorcas waited, confused. "...Reg?"
"Shit," Regulus mumbled. Then he closed the journal, clasping his hands over it.
Seconds later, someone came up behind Dorcas. "Hey, Remus wanted me to return this to -"
James's voice faltered, and Dorcas saw Regulus tense.
"What are you reading?"
Regulus had a -very clearly forced - smile. "What?"
James stepped closer, and Dorcas could see him now. "That book," James clarified, nodding to it. "Can I see it?"
"Er," Regulus stalled. "It's boring. And - in French."
James looked surprised, for a second.
And then he looked hurt, and Dorcas was realizing how deeply she'd just screwed up.
James set the book he'd been holding down, and then took a couple of steps back before holding out a hand. "Accio, my journal."
The book flew out from under Regulus's hands and into James's palm.
Regulus looked scared.
Dorcas shifted. "It's not his-"
"It's fine," James said quickly. He gave Regulus a tense smile. "Have a good day."
"Wait, no," Dorcas tried, standing up. "James, he didn't take it, Barty did, because I told him to, and Reg didn't even know."
James hesitated. Then he looked at Regulus, who hadn't made a sound. "You've seen this in my room before."
Regulus didn't move.
James's voice was soft, but sad. "Did you recognize it? Before you opened it?"
Dorcas watched helplessly as Regulus looked down at his lap.
James waited a few minutes, but eventually he nodded. "Okay, then."
He started to walk away, and Regulus looked up. "James."
James stopped, turning enough to look back.
Regulus looked at him for a second. "I'm sorry."
James smiled, but it still looked sad. "It's okay."
Then he left, and Dorcas was faced with a very sad - and deeply angry - Regulus Black.
Chapter Text
Regulus wasn't talking to her anymore.
Or Barty, which was driving Barty absolutely insane with anxiety.
"I need to talk to you."
James shoved his books into his bag. "No."
"James, please."
"Why are you so obsessed with this?" James demanded. "Why can't you leave me alone? And why did you drag Regulus into it? Why -" James stopped, taking a deep breath. "I don't get it. You're not like this, Dorcas. You're not cruel, and you don't usually have trouble respecting boundaries. So I don't understand why you couldn't leave me alone, and I don't understand why you had to push for information you're not entitled to."
The words stung - either because they were true or because she actually looked up to James a bit, and Dorcas was having trouble answering.
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone," Dorcas tried.
And failed, because James just shook his head. "But you did."
"Regulus isn't talking to me," Dorcas said quickly. "Which - I mean, it's fair. He's really mad at me. And he probably suspected the journal was yours, but I told him it wasn't, and I'm sure he had doubts. As soon as he saw the handwriting he got on to me about it, and he didn't stop to read any of it. He told me not to take it, and he was furious that I did, and I know it didn't look good but I promise he wasn't going to read that journal and he only lied to you because he was scared you'd be mad or - or disappointed, probably, because he hates disappointing people."
James shook his head. "You don't need to defend him."
"I do, because it's my fault," Dorcas argued. "I got caught up in proving that you like him, and I went about it the wrong way. It was a bad choice, and it wasn't okay, but it was me. It was all me. And a little bit Barty. But none of it was Regulus. He wouldn't do that to you, and I didn't understand why but I do now and I'm sorry." She searched James's expression, a little desperate and not afraid to show it. "You can be mad at me. You should be mad at me. But please don't be mad at him for something he never wanted and had no part in."
It hadn't seemed like a big deal, at first. James had a crush, Regulus had a crush, and they both just needed to see that.
But she'd seen how hurt James looked. How scared Regulus was.
How devastated Regulus had been that night.
Because she'd been so focused on the fact that Regulus liked someone that she'd forgotten how rare that was. How infrequently Regulus was actually able to trust someone like that.
She'd forgotten how much of Regulus's thing with James relied on that trust.
And she hadn't taken into account that the trust went both ways.
James nodded, expression neutral. Dorcas hadn't realized he could mask as well as he was - it was on par with Regulus, almost.
Regulus hid everything behind glares and silence.
And Dorcas was starting to think that James hid a lot behind all of the smiles and kind words.
"Goodbye, Dorcas."
Dorcas winced at the pointed tone. "Bye."
Maybe it had helped.
Hopefully.
Dorcas took a deep breath. As long as she hadn't made it worse, it would be okay.
It had to be okay.
Chapter Text
Marlene was quiet, lying over Dorcas's lap in the Slytherin common room.
But Marlene was never quiet, and Dorcas was panicking.
"Are you going to break up with me?"
Marlene sat up quickly, eyes wide. "What?"
"Because I hurt James," Dorcas clarified. "Are you - sorry. I just thought...you were quiet."
"I'm thinking," Marlene said, sounding a bit incredulous. "And no, I'm not breaking up with you. Even if you did hurt him." She lay back over Dorcas's thighs. "Which you did, by the way, and I am still upset about it."
"I'm sorry," Dorcas apologized. "It was a dumb thing to do."
"It was," Marlene agreed. She sighed, blue eyes catching on Dorcas's. "But people do dumb things sometimes. You're not exempt."
Dorcas shrugged. "Still."
"Still nothing." Marlene reached up and tugged lightly on one of her braids. "Regulus will forgive you, and so will James." She hummed. "Not that James is the one tearing you up here."
"He is, a bit," Dorcas admitted. "Which is weird, because we don't talk a lot, and I don't think I've ever really hung out with him one-on-one or anything. But he's just - I don't know. He's always so kind, and upbeat, and he never reacts badly. He never snaps at anyone. I think that he's just - he's like that safe person, you know? The one you'd send a kid to if they couldn't find their parents or had a bad coming-out experience. And now he's all hurt and disappointed, and I hate that I did that. Regulus means more to me, obviously, but James is just -" she shrugged. "Something."
"He's good," Marlene said softly. "And it hurts to hurt something good."
Dorcas nodded. Then she moved Marlene's hair out of her face. "You're something good, you know."
Marlene rolled her eyes. "Right."
"You are," Dorcas insisted. She tapped Marlene's nose, making it scrunch up. "And I'm lucky to have you."
Dorcas was very pleased with the blush she got from that.
And she was even more pleased with what happened after.
Chapter Text
Regulus was sitting at the edge of the lake when James found him, a closed book by his side.
"You haven't been in the library," James said, carefully sitting down next to him. He set his bag off to the side, not sure he'd need it.
Regulus didn't look up from the water. "Because you're there in the afternoons." He half-shrugged. "Figured the least I could do was not bother you while you were in there."
James pushed through the anxiety swirling in his chest. "You didn't have to leave."
"I did," Regulus disagreed.
The response confirmed something James had been thinking.
Because Dorcas had been so sincere in telling him that Regulus would never read his journal. That he hadn't wanted to.
But James could read Regulus better than most - maybe better than almost anyone - and he'd seen the guilt. The indecision.
So he didn't argue. "Why?"
Regulus frowned. "You don't know already?"
James shrugged. "It was kind of a mess. Dorcas tried to explain, but I want to hear it from you."
Regulus nodded, but he didn't say anything. He just watched the water.
That was okay. James could wait until he figured out what to say.
"I wasn't going to read it," Regulus finally murmured. "I knew it was yours, but I wasn't going to read it. And then she lied about it, and I knew she was lying. So I opened it, and I - I saw my name." His hands were carefully folded in his lap, eyes steady on the water. "And I didn't read it. But I really wanted to. And maybe I would have, if you hadn't gotten there. Maybe I would have put it in my bag, and I would have planned to return it. But I would have had it. And my name would have stayed in my head, and maybe it would have been too much. Maybe I would have read it. Or tried to, at least. And - maybe you should be mad at me. Maybe you should be really, really mad at me, because I'm not sure you can trust me."
That was a lot.
But it was also very close to what James had already expected.
"Do you know why she wanted you to read it?"
James had thought about this a lot. Because Dorcas seemed insanely determined to show Regulus that James liked him.
But James was pretty sure he and Dorcas were friends. Not great friends, but there was an amount of respect there. So he was pretty sure that Dorcas wouldn't deliberately ruin his friendship with Regulus.
Which led him to one conclusion, but James was having trouble believing it.
Slowly - reluctantly, James could tell - Regulus nodded.
"Do you still want to read it?"
Regulus looked at him with wide eyes, abandoning the water for the first time since James had sat down. "What?"
Chapter Text
Regulus was hearing things. He had to be. Because there's no way James had just said -
"I asked if you still want to read it."
-that.
"I -" Regulus hesitated. "No. Of course not."
James gave him a look.
"Or - okay, yes," Regulus admitted. James had always been able to tell when he was lying. "But I'm not going to. I would never. I - why are you asking?"
Because with anyone else, it would be a test of some sort. A manipulation.
But James didn't do that to him. So there must be another reason.
James twisted, reaching for his bag and pulling out a familiar book. "Because I wanted to know." He opened it to the page -still bookmarked - and held it out. "Here."
Regulus didn't look at the page. Didn't reach for the book. "Why?"
James met his eyes, and Regulus didn't understand why he looked anxious, but he did. "Because you want to read it."
"But it's yours," Regulus replied, almost whispering. "It's not mine to read."
"I would give you anything you want," James said quietly. "You know that? Anything."
Regulus wasn't sure how to process that. So instead, he looked down at the page.
He could see his name. Sirius's, too, and Remus's. And...
"Doesn't that word mean kill or die or something?" Regulus checked.
James looked down at where he was pointing. "Yeah." He looked back at Regulus. "Want me to translate?"
There was a small voice warning Regulus not to answer. That it was a trap, and he wasn't supposed to want things. He tried not to, really.
But he wanted this. He wanted James.
So he nodded. "Please?"
"Mmhm." James looked down, scanning over the words. "It says, 'I can't sleep. I really can't sleep, and I can't wake Sirius up to talk about it or Remus will kill me. But Regulus fell asleep on the couch with me and he looked so sweet and pretty and I can't think about anything else. Sirius said that I need to just tell him, but I know that I can't, so I'm just writing about it. Maybe if I write it I'll finally be able to fall asleep. Otherwise I'll be exhausted tomorrow, and Regulus always notices when I'm tired. I don't know how, because no one else does, except for Sirius sometimes. It's probably because he's so observant. Merlin, he's so smart. And so pretty. And I'm so tired. I'm glad I get to see him tomorrow.'" James met his eyes, and he was blushing a little. "So. That's that, I guess."
Regulus was - alive, probably. And sort of breathing. Not evenly, but given the circumstances maybe that could be excused. "You thought I was pretty?"
"I think you're pretty," James corrected gently. "Current, not past." He tilted his head in thought. "Though, also in the past."
"And - smart," Regulus managed. "You think I'm smart."
James laughed, but it wasn't mean. "You are smart."
"Yeah," Regulus agreed. He felt sort of dazed. "And - tell me what?"
"What do you mean?"
"It says - you said that Sirius told you that you should just tell me," Regulus remembered. "What did he want you to tell me?"
James looked down for a second, and it hit Regulus that he was nervous.
And then brown eyes were meeting his. "He wanted me to tell you that I really, really like you."
"You like me," Regulus echoed.
James nodded, visibly watching his expression. "I like you."
"Oh." Regulus sucked in a breath. "Right. That's - right." He nodded. "Okay. Right."
"It's okay if you need some space for a while," James said, and Regulus blinked.
"What?"
"Because - it's a lot?" James half-asked, looking mildly concerned. "And you don't have to like me back or anything, I just figured if Dorcas went to all that trouble then maybe you should know-"
"I like you," Regulus interrupted.
James went still.
"I really like you," Regulus continued. "I have for a while. That's why Dorcas was trying to prove it. Because I didn't believe her. Because - you never said anything." He frowned. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"You ignored me after I said we were friends," James pointed out. He winced. "I was worried something like this would be too much."
"You're not too much," Regulus denied. He took a deep breath. "You're - perfect, actually. And I really like you."
James smiled, pleased and so purely happy that Regulus couldn't help smiling back. "I really like you, too."
Notes:
It's not included, but they fell asleep together right there in the grass. Neither had been sleeping well, and they were tired.
Chapter Text
Dorcas knew that Regulus forgave her when he sat down at her table to study with her. There were no words, though there would be later. Just a look across the table, a small smile, and an answering - and very relieved - smile back.
James was harder, which should have surprised her but somehow didn't. Dorcas thought it was probably because she'd hurt Regulus, and James wasn't inclined to forgive anyone who hurt Regulus.
So Dorcas was still working on that. It didn't help that when she asked for advice, the only answer she'd managed to get was that no one else had ever made James mad, so no one knew how to earn his forgiveness.
She was still working on it when Lily's birthday party came around. Dorcas was invited through Marlene, and possibly through Regulus. And she only went because of them. Not because she had anything against Lily.
But because the party was strawberry-themed, and she was allergic to them. So she couldn't eat anything there - or hardly anything - and she couldn't kiss her girlfriend. Overall, it was not turning out to be a fun experience, and she was fully prepared to force a smile and get through it the best she could.
They handed out cake - strawberry - and ice cream - also strawberry - and had appetizers. Which, of course, were strawberry.
And Dorcas was starving, but whenever Marlene came to check on her, she just gestured to her plate of carrot sticks and smiled.
All in all, it sucked. But Dorcas would do it a million times over to watch Marlene laugh and dance around the room with her friends.
"Hey."
Dorcas looked up, automatically forcing a smile. "Hi."
James sat down next to her on the couch. "Having fun?"
"Yup," Dorcas lied. A little late, she remembered that James had been the one to organize the party. "You did a great job, it looks...great."
Inwardly, she winced.
James just laughed. "Thanks. What did you think of the cake? I promised the house-elves I would collect reviews."
"Oh." Dorcas hesitated. "It was good."
James squinted at her. "Really?"
Was it bad? Maybe she should have asked Marlene.
"Yes?" She tried.
James frowned.
"I'm allergic," Dorcas admitted. She fidgeted with the hem of her dress. "To strawberries. So I didn't have any." She tried to figure out James's expression. "I'm sorry, I didn't - I shouldn't be here, really."
"No, you should," James contradicted. "We want you here."
He actually looked a little upset, and Dorcas tried not to apologize again. It wasn't her fault she was allergic.
"I'll be back," James told her, and then he was gone.
Dorcas closed her eyes in defeat.
"You look like you want to leave."
"I'm not going to be invited to your wedding," she replied, opening her eyes. "Your boyfriend hates me."
"He doesn't," Regulus denied, though he was a little pink. Maybe from the wedding comment. "You'd know if he did."
"But he doesn't like me," Dorcas said, and she was actually a little upset about it. "Why can't he forgive me? You did. Marlene did. He's supposed to be friendly."
"I don't think he has to forgive you just because you think he should," Regulus pointed out, and Dorcas silently agreed. "Anyway, I'm not sure he hasn't forgiven you."
"That's not a real sentence," Dorcas complained. "And it's not like anyone actually read the journal, so this is - an overreaction."
"You broke into his dorm room and stole his private property to gain access to information that you not only had no right to, but that he had told you to stay away from. You violated his trust and you didn't consider his feelings at all in the entire process," Regulus said sharply. "So, no, his not wanting to be your best friend is not an overreaction. He's not even rude to you. He's perfectly polite and you're throwing a fit because you can't stand not getting everything right for once."
Dorcas blinked, taken by surprise. And then she nodded. "Fair. Sorry, I won't say it again."
"Thank you." Regulus looked down. "And actually, I read the journal. After he got it back, he showed it to me."
"What?" Dorcas asked. "Really? What did you do for him to do that?"
Regulus shrugged. "Nothing. He asked if I wanted to, and I said yes, so he showed it to me."
"Just because you wanted to?" Dorcas checked.
Regulus looked hopelessly pleased. "Yes."
They sat quietly for a while before James showed up again, a basket in his hand. "I'm back." He pressed a kiss to Regulus's cheek. "Hi, Reg. Dorcas, here."
Dorcas took the basket, a little confused as she lifted the cover.
And then she stared for a minute, because what?
"There's a little cake in here," she said numbly.
James nodded, settled beside Regulus.
"And..sandwiches," Dorcas continued. "And raspberries, and chocolate, and - why is there so much food in here?"
"I asked the elves if I could have a mini version of the menu, but without any strawberries," James explained. "There's raspberry in the cake, I think, and there's a few different types of tarts in there."
"Are," Regulus mumbled, and James hummed.
"Are," he agreed. "There are a few types of cakes in there."
Dorcas shook her head. "Why?"
James looked at her like it was obvious. "Because you can't eat anything here."
"Oh, shit," Regulus said. "Sorry, I forgot."
"Would have been helpful," James replied, but he kissed the other boy's temple.
"But you don't like me," Dorcas said.
James looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"You - since I did the journal thing?" Dorcas reminded him. "You're mad at me."
"Oh, no," James said, shaking his head. "I got over that forever ago."
"What?"
"Yeah," James said, oblivious to the whiplash Dorcas was going through. "About the time Marlene got sick and you stayed up all night reading to her. That was really sweet, and I couldn't be mad at you after that."
That was three weeks ago.
Three weeks.
Dorcas wasn't sure if she was going to laugh or cry.
"Thanks for the food," she said instead.
James smiled. "You're welcome."
Dorcas took a deep breath, relaxing a little more as Marlene plopped down on her lap.
She had her girlfriend - who was apparently starving and she hadn't noticed - and her non-strawberry food, which was immediately shared with said girlfriend. And Regulus was sitting with James, happier than she'd ever really seen him.
Life was good.