Everything About You Is So Overwhelming

"You could have told me to bring a scarf before you dragged me out here," Severus chastised. James, who was busy working on a heating charm for his jacket, hummed in response. James had convinced Severus to come with him out to the Quidditch pitch just before the sunset. The cold air had nipped at Severus' fingertips and James' ears all day, but that hadn't deterred the Gryffindor from his plans.

"Once I put a bit of heating magic on your clothes you'll forget all about your scarf," James said. On a day as skin-piercingly cold as this one, a bit of insulation went a long way. James muttered an incantation and ripples of warmth spread out from the sides of Severus' coat to the ends of his limbs.

He hummed appreciatively, pulling his coat around him tighter still. They spiralled around the inner staircase until they reached the top of one of the seating towers, facing the sun. The cool breeze made Severus' cheeks numb and red, but he barely noticed the dull sensation as he slid his hand into James'.

They sat together, watching the sky fade from blue to a mix of yellow and pink hues. Severus was content. Several days ago, he worked up the gall to kiss James in the Astronomy tower, and everything had been fairytale perfect. If it had happened to somebody else, Severus would have gagged as they recounted the events.

"You know, you didn't make things easy for me," Severus said. James raised a brow, facing the Slytherin.

"How?"

"You kept saying that you're glad we're friends now. Friends, friends, friends. That word began to feel like a slug in the gut."

"Well what was I supposed to say?" James laughed.

"I don't know, the truth?" Severus asked.

"When I told you the truth, you ran away," James pointed out. Severus swallowed and paused.

"That's true, I guess I didn't make it easy on you either," Severus replied.

"Hey, it's alright, you came around," James leaned forward, palms on his knees as he bit his bottom lip.

Severus let out a sigh at the sight. "I don't know how we spent so many years being at each other's necks."

James' face fell for a moment. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and hummed.

"I'm still trying to convince myself that this is all real. That you won't just wake up someday and come to your senses," James confessed.

"This is real, don't fret your pretty head, Potter," Severus teased. He wrapped an arm around James' neck and pulled him into a gentle kiss. A broad hand found its resting place on Severus' waist, pulling him closer still.

There was an air of peace atop the Quidditch stands, Severus didn't want to leave. He didn't want to go back to sticking to the shadows when he was apart from James to avoid his own vindictive roommates. The hot pressure of James' lips trailing his jawline brought him back into the moment. He suppressed a moan as those lips found their way to the side of his neck.

"Maybe we should head back," Severus said a while later, "it's starting to get dark already."

James slumped against Severus and groaned. The Slytherin stood up, James wrapped his arms around his thighs and rested his head on his hip as he tried to drag him back down.

"Let go, I'm serious."

"Fine, but when you complain about your cold hands in a few minutes, I'm not helping you out." James rose with his nose in the air.

Sure enough, as they were halfway back to the castle, Severus felt a numb chill settle in on his fingertips. The sensation raced up his fingers and through his palms. He only had to give James a look before the Gryffindor clutched his cold hands. They stopped walking and James concentrated on massaging heat back into his digits. James bowed his head and placed a kiss on the knuckles of both of his hands.

"Hope this pleases m'lord," James spoke in an overly pompous accent that was too close to his real voice to be anything but self-deprecating.

"Shut up." Severus couldn't suppress the small smile that crept onto his face as James laced their fingers together and kept walking.

There was an unspoken agreement that they were taking things slow. Testing the waters before diving in head first. As far as Severus knew, James hadn't told anyone from his immediate group of friends. The past year had disheveled Severus' worldview and social standing enough, he didn't need a public relationship with the Gryffindor Quidditch star to bring further attention to himself. He didn't want to be the subject of Howlers from obsessive exes and jealous girls.

That wasn't to say that he didn't relish in the way James treated him now. Their friendship had virtually stayed the same, albeit the addition of kissing to their repertoire made Severus long for something more. He just wasn't ready yet.

***

"Are you sure you don't want me to walk with you back to the Slytherin quarters?" James asked.

"If that were the case, I wouldn't have just walked you up to the Gryffindor tower," Severus replied. He raised a valid point, but James was hesitant to leave him for the night.

They rounded the corner and found themselves in the corridor leading to the portrait of the Fat Lady. James stopped and pulled Severus back by his sleeve.

"Bye," they said in unison. They grinned for a moment before they enveloped each other in a tight hug. James felt rather sheepish as he pulled away, he held Severus' hands in his own and brushed a thumb over his knuckles to prolong his final farewell.

He debated for half a second whether or not he should kiss Severus goodnight, but decided to kiss the raven-haired boy anyways. When he pulled away, he noticed the childlike mirth in Severus' dark eyes. It was so unbecoming of the man's usual temperament that James was unsure if he'd ever see that look again. He tried as hard as possible to commit to memory the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled.

Severus turned the corner and disappeared from view, James lingered for a moment, not ready to go back to the common room for the night just yet. He turned back around and began to walk to the portrait, still down the end of the long corridor. He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept his eyes on his feet as a smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth.

"So is he your boyfriend now?" James nearly tripped over his own feet at the sound of Marlene McKinnon's voice. He lifted his head and spotted Marlene leaning against the wall next to the portrait. She had one leg propped up against the wall and her arms folded over her chest with a sly expression on her face.

"Merlin, Marlene, warn a person!" James loosened his tie, it was beginning to feel like a tightening noose around his neck.

"That I'm leaning against the wall? Ok, I'm leaning against the wall. So are you two together?" Marlene persisted. James swallowed as he paced over to Marlene, thinking of something to say. He looked over his shoulders to see if anyone else was around that he hadn't spotted yet.

Marlene was one of Lily's best friends, so naturally her and James had a rocky relationship. James liked Marlene, sure, but she had always been short with him. From the chatter he'd heard between the Gryffindor girls over the years, plus Mary's poisonous gossip, Marlene probably disliked Severus more.

Marlene quirked an eyebrow, James had to think of something to say, and quick.

"I mean, we're not...but would that be a problem if we were?" James asked cautiously.

Whatever James expected, it wasn't for Marlene's face to soften into a gentle smile.

"No, but you know what?" Marlene pushed herself away from the wall and looked up to James. "He doesn't seem so bad. If James Potter likes him and he's a Slytherin? That's saying something."

"That's it? You don't take issue with anything else?" James danced around the subject, not explicitly addressing the elephant in the room. He could now treat Marlene as a test run of sorts, to gauge her reaction to see if he should bother coming out to people outside of the Marauders.

"Come on, James. You should know I'm the last person to take issue with the fact that you two are both men," Marlene rolled her eyes. James reeled back.

"Wait, are you saying-"

"That I'm gay too? It's not exactly a secret," Marlene smirked. She raised her hand to scratch at her hair, disturbing her curls. "I won't tell anyone about you and Snape. Goodnight."

She disappeared behind the portrait before he could question her further.

***

James couldn't wait to find Severus the next day. Marlene's words were burned into his mind, and he couldn't wait to divulge them to his friend. It was comforting to know that they weren't the only gay students at Hogwarts, although Remus and Sirius hid in plain sight too.

He spotted Severus in the Great Hall around midday. Cradling a book, he sat alone at the end of the Slytherin table. James sat across from Severus, the latter only looked up when James banged his open palms on the table. He jumped in his seat a bit, spooked after being suddenly ripped away from the riveting world of 'Illyius and the Patronus Charm'.

"Potter," Severus greeted snidely. The small smile he gave after he spoke undercut his tone.

"Snape," James shot back, failing to make his greeting sound as scathing as Severus'.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Severus asked. He closed his book and placed it on the sturdy, wooden table. Severus feigning coldness in their greetings had become somewhat of a custom for them. Anyone looking from the outside in might think they were about to draw their wands; their cyclic friendship had kept everyone guessing whether this was all some big rouse. They were the only two who knew the truth.

"So, last night after you left for the dungeons, Marlene spoke to me about us. Turns out she saw us together, and she seemed happy for us. It was really weird considering that she didn't like me for ages because of how I chased after Lily," James explained. With every word Severus' face fell from that bemused expression into a look of contorted ire.

"Merlin," he muttered and grabbed his book. He rose from the table and stormed away. James shot up and chased after Severus. He reached him in the doorway of the Great Hall, clasping a hand on his shoulder to pull him back.

"What's wrong?" James asked. Severus looked around before he wrapped a hand around James' bicep and dragged him into a more secluded alcove.

"What's wrong is that I don't feel like broadcasting my personal business to the student body," Severus said darkly. He was flushed and kept looking past James' shoulder as though he expected someone to intrude on their conversation. James reeled back, that wasn't the response he expected.

"It was just Marlene, she's gay too if that gives you peace of mind," James argued.

"That's not it-" Severus sighed.

"It's not me is it?" James hesitantly asked.

"What? No James, of course not," Severus defended. He pinched the bridge of his nose, James watched as a calm resolve settled into his features again.

"I know that whatever this is isn't like your previous flings, but this is entirely new to me," Severus slowly explained. "I've never done this before, so can we just take it slow?"

"I thought we were already taking it slow," James smirked.

"Even slower then?"

"Of course."

***

Remus placed a large log in the Gryffindor fireplace, sending embers into the air as it landed and rolled to the back. Hopefully it was enough to keep the flames burning throughout the night. He sunk back into the plush armchair directly opposite Sirius. The common room was empty, it was nearing 1am.

Remus contemplated the other man. Sirius was resting his cheek in his palm, propped up by an elbow on the arm of the chair. His eyes had slipped shut and his breathing has reached a slow, steady pace. Remus watched the gentle rising and falling, rising and falling of his chest.

"Are you still awake, Padfoot?" Remus asked. Sirius' eyes fluttered open and he yawned.

"Barely, but I don't want to leave yet. It's too warm here." He leaned forward and held his hands in front of the flames. He rubbed them together to generate even more heat.

"Hey, you know what happened today?" Sirius started as he leaned back into his chair. Remus shook his head. "Dorcas asked me out."

Remus clenched his jaw.

"Really? Wow, I'm happy for you," Remus tried to sound sincere. Sirius grimaced.

"What? No, I rejected her," he said. Sirius chuckled, then continued, "I was taking too long to ask her out, apparently. She couldn't take it anymore, but I didn't even know she felt that way about me."

"So why'd you turn her down?"

"Seriously, Moony?" Sirius asked. Remus frowned, Sirius was annoyed by his question but Remus doesn't know why. He nodded, prompting Sirius to continue.

Sirius sighed, bringing his hand to his forehead. "Because I'm holding out for someone else."

Remus ignored the pang of jealousy in his stomach, it didn't mean anything.

"Who?"

"I'm going to go to bed," Sirius stood up abruptly, "feel free to come up anytime. Goodnight, Moony." Sirius patted Remus' shoulder as he passed. He relished in the burning sensation it left behind.

Remus waited until Sirius ascended the spiralling staircase to the dorms before he dropped his calm façade. He sighed, shoulders slumping downward, and tried to keep his angry and confused tears at bay as he drew his knees to his chest. He stayed curled up in the chair until he was certain Sirius would be asleep, then left the common room for the night.