Chapter Text
James supposed that Albus - that little twerp – was onto something when he said James's penchant for pranks would get him into trouble he probably won't be able to escape later on. 'Probably' because, come on, he's the second coming of the Marauders for Merlin's sake- named after two Messers for anyone's information – and a Marauder doesn't ever let themselves get caught. And if they do get caught, Marauders should be able to get themselves out of it.
Okay, maybe he shouldn't have pranked anyone today; they were in muggle London after all. But really, he did not expect things to escalate so quickly. All he wanted was to give Teddy a good scare, chances to prank the older teen came few and far in between, and Quidditch be damned if he won't get back at the other teen's latest stunt- he liked his hair growing only where they were supposed to, thank you very much.
And maybe he shouldn't have let his recklessness overrule his senses. Last time he checked- this morning while being hoarded out of the house- Teddy wore a Chuddley Cannons themed sweater, and, given his turquoise hair, he shouldn't have mistaken anyone for him, because really, who in the muggle world would have turquoise hair?
But he did. James mistook a stranger- a rather good looking stranger, he can't help but notice now- as his happy-go-lucky cousin and without any tact, jabbed his fingers onto the person's sides, intending to give them a simple scare. He did not expect Teddy-well, maybe the turquoise haired teen in front of him wasn't Teddy- to scream bloody murder and whirl around with an incredulous look on his face.
Momentarily struck dumb, James Sirius Potter can't help but notice the deep blue eyes behind wide orange rimmed glasses, which later on he would notice that the shade of blue easily changes from blue as light as the morning sky to a blue so dark you could have mistaken it for black, thick blonde eyebrows currently scrunched up incredulous, a sharp nose, and pale pink lips- and wouldn't he just love to touch them, preferably by his own lips, what the fuck was wrong with him- dropped in shock.
Distantly, James heard a crash of something Not-Teddy might have dropped, and James decided, right at that moment, that he would do anything in his power, maybe even above that, to get Not-Teddy to forgive him. Because really, as much as he didn't want to be a typical James Potter-no matter how cool his granddad was- if this wasn't Fate working her strings or Cupid shooting an arrow through his chest, he didn't know what it was.
With his heart beating like a stampeding hippogriff, blood rushing to his cheeks, palms starting to sweat- and he did NOT get sweaty palms, he's a fucking beater for Merlin's sake- and the haunting voice of Albus saying 'I told you so' echoing through his head, James can't help but think that maybe, just maybe, he should stop scaring people at random times. He's saying maybe because if he didn't then he wouldn't have met his soulmate, even if Not-Teddy says otherwise.