Things had changed. And Sirius wasn't really sure it was for the best.

See, when he and James had cooled down enough to actually sit down and discuss what was happening between them, the first thing to come to Sirius's mind was that they couldn't tell a soul. If anyone knew, anyone at all, they'd tell his brother and his brother would tell his mother and then - then all Hell would break loose. A homosexual Black? Preposterous! And he was dating one of those Potters? Nonsense! Though James was a pureblood through and through, the Potters had never been on the same level that the Blacks or the Malfoys were on. The Potters didn't judge people based on their blood type; they didn't make family friends around a name. They were typically Gryffindors, and not just in the way that they could go anywhere and they leaned slightly more toward Gryffindor. They were real Gryffindors, supportive of their house and colors through and through, never ashamed of it. Honestly, they were purebloods but they didn't act like purebloods. And nothing in the world infuriated Mrs. Black more than a pureblood that acted like a Mudblood.

But James, of course, didn't even give Mrs. Black a second thought. When Sirius had suggested keeping quiet, he just grabbed his hands and said, "You're a bigger moron than I thought if you think I'm going to let anyone else think they still have a chance with you for one more second." No fear of rejection. No fear of his mother hexing her way into Hogwarts just to break down the doors and kill him. No fear of anyone thinking less of him. That was James Potter. Never fearful.

Sirius had learned long ago not to argue with James, so he let his friend (boyfriend, he soon realized, and he always smiled just thinking the word) do whatever he wanted in terms of telling people. After all, though he was a worrier deep down inside, Sirius Black had a reputation to maintain, and if James was brave enough to risk it all by coming out as homosexual, then he was going to take that risk with him.

But then things changed.

It all started the very next day. Though Sirius and James had eventually fallen asleep together on the couch, too tired to get back up to the dormitories, no one really paid them any mind. The two had been doing that for years. However, a few of the guys who knew them did walk by and snicker at them when they realized that the two were more tangled together than usual. And from there, people slowly started to catch on. They got a couple stares from a few girls who were around when they woke up, mainly because James kept brushing away Sirius's hair and staring at him with an expression not unlike a lovesick schoolchild. And those stares just increased as they left the common room - something was different about the pair. They seemed...closer.

It never seemed to dawn on people that the two were holding hands (something James had insisted upon) until they were already out of sight.

At breakfast, they were met with stares - blatant stares, pointed fingers, and whispers that were too loud to have ever been intended to be kept secret. And though SIrius usually ate up attention, this time around, it just made him feel insecure. Those weren't just the normal people looking at him and James in admiration. There were some judgmental stares and when the two sat down together at the table, he could hear Severus Snape's loud and cruel laugh as James kissed him on the cheek. It was definitely out now. The entire school would know that James Potter and Sirius Black were dating. And though the thought itself was comforting and even satisfying, the stares and upturned noses were not. The only thing keeping him from asking James once more if they could just keep it quiet for a little longer was the look of complete admiration he was getting from his boyfriend at that very moment.

Throughout the day, people got bolder and bolder. At first, they just stared and whispered quietly behind their hands. But as their morning classes progressed, some people openly snickered and Lily Evans made her disapproval of the relationship very clear by telling James that she'd be more than willing to brew up an antidote to the love potion Sirius slipped him. Sirius got a deep feeling of satisfaction when the hex James silently threw her way during class hit, and that satisfaction just grew when he saw the furious look on Snape's face as he walked Lily to the hospital wing. Priceless.

After that, though, instead of the disapproval dying down for fear of being hexed, people just got more expressive about how they felt about the whole thing. Some wrote notes, some just openly called them fags, some disappointed girls groaned and grumbled at them, and when one particularly giggly sixth year asked James to kiss Sirius in front of them all, there was a mixture of emotions expressed when the Potter boy gladly obliged, not many of them positive. And though James didn't seem phased by it one bit (he never did) Sirius felt his skin crawl at the criticisms. No one had ever dared criticize him before - between his Black ancestry and his ability to make friends with some of the more powerful wizards at the school, no one had ever thought to. Besides, why would they? Sirius was charming, he was good-looking, he was intelligent and charismatic. Other than Snape and possibly Evans, who would have a problem with him? Who could?

He didn't tell James, though. He didn't want to upset his boyfriend or make him think that he was having second thoughts. Because he wasn't - honestly he wasn't. It was just...it was so hard to be happy about holding James' hand when everyone around them disapproved. How the Potter heir made his way through the school, all sunshines and rainbows and smiles, Sirius would never know. It must have just been one of those things that was so uniquely James.

The rest of the week was the same, too. James was smiley, Sirius was uncomfortable, the school was critical. The only difference was that now, James was bolder. He kissed Sirius goodbye when they approached classes they didn't have together, he openly flirted with him in class, and he didn't even care to shelter them enough that professors had to separate them from one another on several different occasions. It was almost like he wanted to fuel the fire, like he didn't care that everyone around them was either disgusted or just extremely tired already of the honeymoon phase the two were going through. To be honest, Sirius didn't doubt that this was close to the truth. It would be just like James to have his cake and eat it, too.

He did know, however, that it had to stop. And this was made most apparent when Sirius got his first Howler.

"Oh shit, Padfoot." James stared at the red envelope with wide eyes, Remus cringed, and Peter even whimpered. Mrs. Black's Howlers were legendary, and though Sirius had only gotten a handful in his seven years at Hogwarts, each one was enough to make up for fifty disappointed letters from other parents. She was...harsh. And she was not a woman you wanted yelling at you in front of the entire school. "To the Lake, now," James said, grabbing the letter and his boyfriend, and the two stumbled out quickly, a few people giggling at the sight of them when they realized what it was in James' hand. A few people even had the nerve to follow.

They had just barely reached the Lake when the letter burst into flame in James' hand, causing the boy to let out a shout and drop it. That's when all Hell broke loose.

"SIRIUS BLACK, YOU FAILURE OF A CHILD. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE NOW? HOW COULD YOU BE SUCH A CONTINUAL DISAPPOINTMENT TO THE BLACK FAMILY? NOT ONLY HAVE YOU SHAMED US ALL WITH YOUR ACTIONS BUT YOU HAVE DISGRACED YOURSELF BY ACTING IN SUCH A MANNER WITH A THING MOST UNSUITED FOR YOUR AFFECTIONS."

Sirius grabbed James' hand at this, and his boyfriend glared up at the envelope.

"I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED. YOU SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAVE THE NAME BLACK ANY LONGER. THE ONLY SATISFACTION I REAP FROM YOUR LESS THAN APPROPRIATE LUST FOR THIS MAN IS THAT NEITHER ONE OF YOU WILL BE ABLE TO BEAR A CHILD THAT MAY CONTINUE ON THE BLACK NAME IN DISGRACE. REGULUS HAS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE THE SHINING STAR IN OUR FAMILY, AND I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED THAT I HAVE TO ASK YOU TO FOLLOW IN YOUR LITTLE BROTHER'S BLOODY FOOTSTEPS. YOU ARE FILTH. IF YOU EVER STEP FOOT IN OUR HOUSEHOLD AGAIN, SIRIUS, IT WILL BE TOO SOON. AND DON'T EVEN THINK OF BRINGING THAT THING AROUND. I WILL SOONER HEX YOU BOTH INTO OBLIVION THAN SEE YOU WALK THROUGH MY FRONT DOOR HAND IN HAND."

The letter than began to viciously tear itself apart, burning parchment falling to the ground in front of the two boys. James was staring at it, seemingly annoyed and yet a little impressed at the tremendous display, and Sirius just stared until the final flames ran out and there was nothing left of his mother's lovely sentiment except for the memory of her voice filling the entire grounds. Around them, a few people were snickering (Snape was actually doubled over in laughter) while others just gave Sirius a look of pure pity. James, however, eventually just pulled on his hand and led him to the Quidditch pitch, where the two sat for hours in silence, not even caring that their classes were passing them by. And so their downfall began.

"Prongs?"

"Hm?"

"You don't...you don't think everyone is thinking what she is, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"That I'm...I'm a disgrace. And we don't belong together."

"Oh, come on, Sirius. That's rubbish. We're perfectly fine the way we are."

"They whisper about us, y'know..."

"Don't be so sensitive."

"Okay, okay...sorry...Just...James?"

"Yeah?"

"If you were ashamed of me, you'd tell me, right?"

"I could never be ashamed of you. Don't be a prat."

"But if you were-"

"I won't ever be."

"But if you were, James."

"Then I'd hex myself for being such a moron. But I'd tell you then, yes."

"I think we should tone it down a bit. Us. Just around the grounds...James? J-James, say something."

"I see."

"I'm not ashamed of you, I promise, it's just that-"

"Please, don't. I get it."

"Don't be mad, please, please don't be angry."

"I'm not mad. I get it. I do."

"...I love you."

"I love you, too. It's nearly dinner time now. Can I...can I hold your hand on the way back? Or is that too much for you to handle?"

"James, don't be like that."

"Too much it is, then."

"No, James, wait! Come back!"

"If you hurry you can walk next to me. Y'know. If that doesn't make you too embarrassed."

"James, please..."

"Come on, Padfoot, I'm hungry."

After that, James didn't talk to him for the rest of the night. He laughed with Remus, joked with Peter, and when Sirius reached over to hold his hand, he took it. But James didn't kiss him goodnight the way that he usually did, and he certainly didn't tell him again that he loved him. The next morning, Sirius woke up alone and when he glanced over at James' bed, it was empty. He sighed.

That's what happened when you let your pride come before your feelings. Things changed. And he wasn't quite sure what he thought about change.

Author's Note: This is short because I've decided that I'm putting James/Sirius on a lesser level than Harry/Draco. Why? Because I think that the past story just needs to show enough background to be relevant. That and writing for Sirius is so hard when all I can picture in my head is him as Harry's godfather. Sorry if this disappoints. Also, sorry I kept you waiting for so long for just simply this. I promise to make up for it with the next chapter when I can find the time. I love you guys. xo.