James always had a temper.

Most days, he kept it low and slow—like the drawl in his voice. Kicking stones, hauling hay, letting off steam with a long ride or a cigarette flicked into the dirt. But not tonight.

Not when he’d had two whiskeys too many and some jackass in the bar couldn’t keep his mouth shut. A slur. A smirk. A dig that hit both—his queerness and the brown skin he carried like a brand in this town.

Most folks didn’t care. Some even liked him—trusted him with their fences, their horses, their kids. But that didn’t mean the ugly parts were gone. Just quieter. Until they weren’t.

He swung first. That much he knew.

Inside the bar, then outside—dragged out by Sirius, still yelling over the din. The other guy followed, big talk and little fists. James won, but his knuckles were busted and his nose wouldn’t quit bleeding.

Sirius didn’t say much after. Just muttered something about not wanting to see this happen again and dropped him off at yours. Said you’d know what to do. Said James trusted you more than anyone. Maybe more than he should.

So now here he was. Sitting on your front porch, handkerchief pressed to his face, blood on his boots. He wouldn’t go inside. Not like this. Wouldn’t mess up your clean floor with his mess of a night.

He didn’t look up when you opened the door. Just listened to the sound of you moving inside—running water, a cabinet creaking open. Familiar things. Things that made his shoulders fall, just a little.

When you came back out and settled beside him on the top step, neither of you said anything for a while.

Then he broke.

“I told Sirius it wasn’t necessary,” he mumbled. “You shouldn’t have to… patch me up. Not again.”

His voice cracked somewhere between apology and exhaustion. And then he kept going, like something had been knocked loose in him.

“I just—I got so tired of pretending I don’t hear it. Like it don’t stick. Like I’m just a cowboy with a smile and boots and nothin’ under it.”

There was blood on his handkerchief, gold on his fingers, and something fragile behind his eyes that he didn’t show anyone else. Not even Sirius.

Just you.