A case of mistaken identity
James Potter x fem! reader
Summary: James mistakes y/n, his best friend, for someone else at a halloween party leading secrets to be revealed
Warnings: swearing, post-hogwarts, best friends to lovers, getting together, first kiss, mutual pining, mentions of sex, alcohol, drunkness, hangovers and slight sexual tension, lil angst, mostly fluff, adorable drunk James, wolfstar being beautifully wolfstar
A/n: 3.1k words, thank you for the request! enjoy xx
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You made your way through the crowd, giggling at some of the costumes. Most people were unrecognisable, yourself included after the use of magic to change your hair colour
“Sorry” you apologise to the third vampire you had ran into in the last few minutes from what you found was not a quick trip to the bathroom but over an hour maze through some ex hufflepuffs mansion
Even after three years the marauders were still invited to everything, and the marauders being the marauders took it as a challenge to go to every party they were invited to. This one being the last in your friend's Halloween crawl.
“He’s so cute” you smile to yourself as your eyes finally fall on James
You had been to ten parties tonight, most of you just stayed in the same costume despite James pleas. Which meant James had in fact changed his costume nine times between each one, but made sure to wear the same band on his wrist so the rest of you could keep up
“Y/n?” you look to the side, eyes lighting up as you see Remus, dressed as bowie, obviously
He squinted at you, making sure he was right as you had to change to your backup costume after someone spilt punch down you
“Yeah” you nod “Hiya Moony” you grin at him “Having fun?”
He nods too, smiling away now he’s sure you are you “Apart from the fact I’m hiding from my fiance. I’m grand” he chuckles
You giggle “Why on earth are you hiding?” you shake your head in an amused confusion
“Sirius thinks I look hot and can’t keep his hands off me…” he gestures to himself and you nod in agreement, he did look beyond good tonight “...normally I love that but he looks like our ex professor and as much as I adore her there no way I can…” his face scrunches up, shaking his he has to shake the grossness out while you burst out in laughter, holding onto his arm as you lose it “It’s not funny” he’s giggling now too
“MY LOVE” the man of the hour shouts over the crowd, pointing to Remus who smiles at him nervously as he watched Sirius hop down from the table and head over
“I gotta run…you never saw me” he whisper shouts whilst backing into the crowd
You giggle at his retreating figure before turning to Sirius as he approaches “Hi Minnie” you wave
“Oh hello beautiful” his disappointment over Remus’ sudden disappearance fades as he happily pulls you in for a hug, breaking away to kiss both your cheeks “You seen my handsome husband?”
“I pretty sure he went that way pretty” you point in the opposite direction to where Remus actually went
“Thanks” he kisses your nose, causing you to giggle “You gonna go get your husband too?” he winks pointing to James who was telling a bunch of people about one of their best pranks
You feel your cheeks grow warm. Your friends had joked about you and James being a couple for years, only time they stopped was when James and Lily dated the last year of school, but promptly started up again when they broke up a few months after graduation
“He’s not my…” you start but Sirius is already off and left you “...boyfriend” you finish rather solemnly to yourself before heading over to James, it was getting late now and you were crashing at his since Sirius would be staying with Remus…if he ever found him
Walking up you find he’s finished telling his story and has now headed to presumably pour himself another drink, so you gently tap his shoulder to gain his attention before he gets to the table.
He does a double take at you, giving you this weird smile, one that makes your heart ache as it isn’t the normal beaming one you’re used to
“Hey” he greets although it sounds more like a question
“Hi” you smile back the best you can “I…” your cut off
“Sorry. I really don’t have time” he says a little cold looking away, chin tilting up as he surveys the crowd
You shoulders drop, instantly deflating and feeling beyond stupid for the tears already pricking your eyes. Pouting as you look down
James turns back to you then, head dipping down and presumably sees how upset you are “Hey” he coos, a tentative hand finding your shoulder although he does wobble a fair bit, displaying that although he’s holding himself rather well he’s still incredible drunk “I’m sorry I’m just looking for someone”
Your eyebrows furrow, lifting your head to meet those big brown eyes you loved more than life “Who?” you ask, not masking your sadness
He looks a little sad himself, almost conflicted “Can you keep a secret?” he asks, almost breathing out as he guides himself and you down to sit on the edge of the couch “Whoa…thanks” he chuckles as he almost falls off the couch but luckily you steady him
“I can keep a secret” you nod
He doesn’t seem to clock the worry on your face nor the utter heartbreak that spreads across your face at what he says next
“I’m looking for this girl. She’s the love of my life, loved her since forever” he starts and all you can do is try your best not to cry
He’s talking about Lily. He has to be. Except he’s too drunk to remember Lily bowed out at party number eight
“She’s so beautiful, and smart, way smarter than me but not in a know it all way…”
He keeps going on and on, heart shattering as you thought your days of these rants ended years ago. You can’t help the tear that falls down your cheek, so you turn your head away to wipe it. You feel silly. Over the last years you and James were the closest you had ever been and you had naively let yourself believe that you finally had a chance, turning down perfectly lovely dates and saving yourself for him, only to find out he never let go of…
“Y/n”
Your head darts to him “Yeah?” you put on your best smile, tilting your head
“You’re not surprised?” he raises an eyebrow “Most people think I still love Lily” he shrugs looking away and you just stare at him baffled, if he wasn’t talking about her then who was it?
“You don’t love Lily?” you ask, eyes wide
He turns back “Think you’ve had just as much as me” he chuckles but then his face falls and he looks at you seriously “Lily was my first love, and in another world she would have been perfect. But Y/n you know…” he starts smiling “She’s the one, the great big beautiful one I always dreamed of” he turns back to you “You remember her from school?” he wonders while it hits you then.
James loves you! You! The knowledge causing very piece of your heart that was just shattered on the floor to rebuilds itself and you find yourself nodding
“Yeah I remember”
“She’s wonderful ain’t she?”
“Yeah” you nod again, seeing that shine he always wore as he speaks of you “You okay?” you wonder as his pretty face drops to a frown
“I wish I could tell her. I’ve wanted to so many times it was just never the right one you know?”
“Yeah. I know” you have to agree, same boat and all that, merlin you could have giggled knowing he was suffering the same affliction if you weren’t sure he’d grow poutier
“Have you seen her? I…” he spaces out for a second and you’d find out later was the all the jelly shots finally kicking in “…I’m gonna be so hungover” he whines, holding his head and almost falling backwards so you have to steady him once more
“You want me to take you home?” you ask him
“No. I can’t leave without y/n and as nice as you are she’s nicer, her hair is nicer…I want her” he babbles a little, kind of like a child describing why one of his toys was better, and you find yourself resisting the urge to kiss him
“Last time I saw her she was with your friends, helping M-Remus hide from Sirius cause he was trying to kiss him” you tell him, having to remind yourself to call your friends by their real names as only marauders and co could use the nicknames
He laughs at that “I can’t blame him, if y/n didn’t look so cute in her costume I’d hit that too” he admits causing you to giggle a little, it was a well known fact everyone was a little into Moony “You think you could go find her for me? Even if she’s staying with them…” he hiccups “...I just need to hear from her that she's okay. Would you be able to find her? Please” he asks you so genuinely, and you have to give it to James for placing his trust in someone who he thinks is a perfect stranger and not his best friend…and you guessed love of his life!
“Course you just wait here” you tell him making sure he isn’t going to keel over while you move around the couch and out of his eye line
Kneeling down you pull out your wand from the strap it was kept in on your thigh under the skirt of your costume. You change your hair back to normal, and also the colour of your shawl so he thinks it’s different, waiting around for a minute before heading back over
“Hiya Jamie” you greet, big smile on your face “A girl told me you were looking for me?”
He eyes you for a moment and then that big grin takes over his features, the one you had been waiting for. He knew it was you this time the silly dear
“Hi!” he’s perked up significantly now “Are you okay? Having fun?” He asks, standing up shakily and taking your hands
You nod “Yeah” lacing your fingers properly with his “I am getting a tad tired though. You want to go home?” you wonder
He nods like a bobble head, following you mindlessly through the party to say your goodbyes before eventually getting back to his and Sirius’ apartment. James was half asleep at this point and you were barely able to get him to brush his teeth before he fell face first into his bed. You didn’t do much after that, just take off his glasses which had miraculously not been lost nor destroyed, and also his shoes
“Goodnight my love” he murmurs, hand lazily reaching out to you and falling onto the covers as he passes out
Your heart was fluttering beyond control “Goodnight Jamie” you whisper, placing a kiss to his temple and adoring the little smile he wears as he hums in his sleep
James woke to a killer headache, groaning as he found himself flat on his stomach, cheek pressed into the mattress. Blinking he glanced around the room which he vaguely recognised to be his even if his vision was a little fuzzy without his glasses. He scooched up the bed, slowly but surely making his way to the pillow, resting a moment before reaching over to pat around for his glasses, eventually finding them
“What a night” he lets out a groan like sigh as he turns to fall onto his back, slipping on his glasses and finally seeing the world
He glances at the clock, 10:30am. He smiled at the knowledge, he could get in another hour in…wait.
He sits up abruptly, ignoring the stinging in his head as he fails to remember how he got home nor when he last saw you
“Fuck…y/n!” he panics, shouting out and clambering out of bed
He half slides along and into Sirius’ room, yelling your name as he does and freaking when he finds it empty. Backing back into the living room he’s about to run to the phone and call Remus in case you went home with him and Sirius when he hears a small clank and turns to the kitchen
“Morning” you giggle at him, clearly finding his theatrics in looking for you hilarious whilst you seem to be mixing something
“Morning” he relaxes instantly, you’re safe, you’re here…and you're wearing his clothes “Sorry love I couldn’t remember a thing and panicked I’d…”
“Abandoned me or something?” you cut him off teasingly
“Never” he chuckles back and you know he means it, he’d never willingly leave you
Walking over to the kitchen, he admires you in his old quidditch jumper, adoring how it wears on you now you’ve charmed it, hanging just below your arse which he will make note to try and not stare at as you turn around so he tries to instead peer into the bowl
You notice however, turning around to face him and hiding it behind your back
“What you making?” he eyes you
“Something nice” you smirk, and James can’t help but smile at the way your entire being glows this morning, you look so happy
It completes him
“Can I inquire what that something nice is?” he leans down a little, matching your grin
“I don’t know” you shrug “It’ll cost you” you look him dead in the eye placing the bowl onto the counter but far enough it’s still out of view
James feels his heart race, you’re looking at him like you know something he doesn’t. It’s a little scary but also thrilling, whatever it is he loves the electric tension in the air
“Oh really?” he steps forward, continuing to match your energy “Name your price my love” he throws you a wink, licking his lips as he watches your cheeks rise and your resolve faluters with shyness before its back
“A kiss” you demand oh so softly, shocking him
His smile doesn’t leave but it softens as his eyes widen in surprise “A kiss?” he confirms, mind trying to figure out if this was some kind of trick question
Did you really want a kiss, a real life altering kiss? Or was this like a friendly cheek kiss…or worse just a joke and he was too hungover to realise
“Yes” you nod, eyes flicking to his lips then back to eyes “James”
“Yeah?”
“Kiss me”
James doesn’t move for a moment, just stares at you, realising you’re completely serious. He lets out a small breathy laugh as he smiles so wide as he cups your cheeks and kisses you with everything he has
He loves the way you smile into the kiss before melting into it. He loves that as he walks you back towards the kitchen table you hop onto it without question and grab his shirt to pull him back in but closer so he stands between your legs. He loves every little hum, noise and every little erratic breath that escapes those perfect lips. He loves that it’s better than anything he could have imagined
“Whoa” he lets out a breathless chuckle when you part, chests heaving as your foreheads rest on one another
“Think you overpaid just for pancake mix” you giggle and he joins you, hand cupping the back of your head as he presses a kiss to your forehead
“Yeah but I was making up for all those years I could have been doing that before…merlin” ge brushes some hair from your face “I’ve fancied you forever” he confesses, smiling like an absolute madman but he doesn’t care, not when you’re looking at him the way you are now
“Likewise big guy” you peck his nose
“Wait” his eyes blow wide, cupping your cheeks “Seriously?”
“Siriusly” you grin at him nodding in his grip
His heart bursts, both from the confirmation and how cute your cheeks are all squished together, oh and the added sprinkle of the pun that was well over used yet still made him chuckle to this day
“Did…” James lets out a nervous chuckle, feeling his cheek grow warm as the question dawns on him “Did…something happen between us last night?” he asks with a raised eyebrow, eyes falling down to your exposed thighs and more so the boxers you had also charmed and stolen and a downturned grin plays on his lips
“Eyes up here” you pull him away from his stares, looking bashful yourself under them
“Sorry” he means it, you don’t look upset but he does feel bad his hands finding the outside of your thighs and pressing his thumbs into your skin soothingly
“Nothing happened last night when we got back” you tell him with a soft smile “I helped you to bed and then I crashed in Siri’s room”
“Oh” he breathes out but he isn’t disappointed, no, he’s happy he didn’t drunkenly forget his first anything with you, although it doesn’t explain why you’ve suddenly made a move “How…” he shakes his head, disertanty in his voice and you know him well enough to know what he’s asking
“How much do you remember from last night?” you wonder, hands dropping from his chest to slide up his forearms
His eyes flutter at your movements “Ugh…don’t think I can remember anything after party number…nine?” he eventually gets out with a shrug “Oh merlin what happened? You said nothing happened when we got back did we before…” he points between yours and his lips, making a kissing motion with them
You laugh at that “No” you assure him giggling and he nods again relieved
“So what then?” he moves closer, pinching your thighs impatiently to which you squeal and squirm cutely
In all honesty James didn’t care what force brought this upon him, he just wanted to thank it…which in around an hour after you both had returned to bed but to to sleep he finds he’s inclined to thank his drunken self
“Give me the short version for now?” he asks and you raise an eyebrow “You heard right” he raises an eyebrow, smirking and he hopes you understand his meaning
Which you do, of course you do and he adores the way you turn away and press your lips together, smiling “A case of mistaken identity” you say a little vaguely after a moment, turning back
“Thats all I’m getting?” he pinches you again to which you poke him in the side back causing him to bark a laugh
“You said short version” you defend
“Come on” he pleads but you bring your hand to your lips and pretend to lock them “You aren’t gonna give me anything, are ya?” he eyes you, scrunching his nose up and rubbing it against your own causing you to giggle
“Well” you look in though “Maybe another kiss might loosen my lips” you grin happily at him
“Yes mam” James winks, wasting no time in indulging you
Thank you for reading ♡
