Self-serving
“What are you doing?”
Lily looked up, more out of curiosity than anything else. His tone should have been harsh. It should have been filled with derision and anger and hatred. It wasn’t. “Nothing.”
“No?” He lifted an eyebrow.
“Not a thing,” she patted the ground next to her. “Want to sit?”
He sat, sliding down the wall with the same grace that he did everything else. He sat, and he watched her, and Lily tried not to fidget under his gaze.
“Want to talk about it?”
“Talk about what?”
He snorted, “Evans, the time for pretending has passed.”
“No, it hasn’t.”
“Evans.”
She huffed, “Fine. But I still don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, that’s too bad,” he turned toward her, his shoulder sinking into the wall as he looked her up and down. “Because we need to.”
Lily finally placed the tone in his voice. It was concern. Her heart melted a little bit. “But why?” she tried but failed to keep the whine out of her pitch.
“Because you agreed to this. You wanted this. And now, you're running away.”
“I’m not running. I’m sitting,” stubborn to the last, was Lily.
“Lily,” his voice was soft, as was the hand that swept back hair from her face so he could see it better. “It’s going to be okay.”
“But what if it isn’t,” she caught his hand mid-air, held it desperately. “What if all of this is a disaster? What then?”
“You try again,” he reassured her, squeezing her fingers and rubbing his thumb across them. “And, let’s face it, it probably will be a disaster.”
“Thanks!” Lily managed to stick him with her best glare, despite holding him like a lifeline.
“Prongs has wanted to date you for at least a year now. Probably longer. He wouldn’t tell us if it was, we’d just take the mick out of him all the more. He’s going to be so nervous he’ll probably knock a drink in your lap, pull a chair out from under you, smack you on the forehead trying to kiss you,” Sirius laughed to himself at the mental imagery.
“It’s not funny,” Lily tried not to laugh herself, feeling her chest tighten with nerves, but also with that heart stopping, butterfly causing feeling she got whenever she thought of James.
“Oh, it is. It so is,” Sirius smiled as he stopped chuckling. “But you know why it’s going to be okay?”
“Why?”
“Because that boy, my brother, wants nothing else than to make you happy. And to be at your side. So, even if he stuffs it all up, he’s going to go out of his way to make it the best date you’ve ever had,” Sirius stood, brushing off his trousers before reaching down for her. “And Prongs has never failed, at anything. He just keeps trying until he gets it right. So, come on.”
Lily allowed herself to be hoisted up into the air, falling into step next to her friend back towards the Common Room. “Thanks, Sirius. For coming to find me.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Sirius waved her off. “It was self-serving really. I couldn’t listen to him mope all day if you stood him up.”
“Still though,” Lily reached an arm out to snag him by the waist, pulling Sirius into a hug as they walked along. “Thanks.”
“Anytime,” Sirius wrapped his arm around her shoulders, squeezing gently. “You look great, you know.”
“I know.”
“Prongs had to change his shirt five times,” Sirius whispered conspiratorially. “Make sure you compliment on it. And how it matches his socks.”
“Naturally. It’s only good first date etiquette, after all.”
“And you’re such an expert on that, huh? Running away before the first date could start, is that in the handbook too? Something to tell the grandchildren anyway, how you almost got away,” Sirius poked at her side, laughing, before yelping and ducking away. “Merlin, woman! Oi! Quit hitting me!”