"You think too much sometimes," James mentioned, talking to both himself and Remus at once as he took the bottle. He quirked up an effort of a smile and said, "There's not a lot of room for 'knowing' when it comes to what the heart wants. Better to just, you know, go with it sometimes."
That advice was strictly for Remus. James didn't want to go with what he was feeling. He didn't even want to be feeling what he was feeling, but he wasn't about to let himself bring a bunch of rain all over Remus's parade. Remus had always been a little older, and now he was a lot older, but James was always content to blame that as an error of fate. Clearly, someone needed to be responsible for looking after Remus a little. Left to his own devices, Remus had seemed likely to worry himself into an early grave, and that was back when they were in school.
A little ironic, that. But James was immediately pushing the idea away. Because, maybe, if he'd worried a little more--
James drowned that train of thought with a quick swallow, instantly deciding that ale wasn't nearly strong enough.