Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

All the love for Web, for beta-ing and title-ing.

Written for my twin, who is legit me in another body and I adore her utterly and completely. I hope you enjoy this love.

Hold The Coffee

James drew idly on the order pad, waiting for his shift to finally be over. As much as he enjoyed his job - and oddly, he did enjoy it - he was so over it today. They'd gone from one extreme to another, being jam packed with jostling customers and scowling faces, to being utterly dead, not even a simple latte to make.

When he glanced up at the clock, groaning when he saw he still had a little under an hour left, he groaned.

Lily chuckled.

"Got a hot date to get to?" she asked, playing with the ends of her red ponytail as she leant against the counter.

"You know you're the only woman for me, Lil," he replied, offering her a cheeky smile.

She nodded. "Since I was talking more the male persuasion, got a hot date to get to?"

He groaned again, his head falling to the counter. "If only," he replied, his voice muffled. "I'm having a dry spell longer than the Gobi desert."

She laughed again, shaking her head at him. "What about Frank? I thought you were seeing him?"

James shrugged, looking up at her. "He wanted to have fun and… I'm not really interested in shagging about anymore."

Lily nodded. "I wish there were more guys like you, James. Only, you know, straight."

Before James could answer, the door opened, and a young man walked in. James checked quickly in the mirror to make sure he wasn't visibly drooling. The customer was probably the hottest man James had ever seen in his life.

"Praise the lords above," he muttered, making Lily grin. She stepped away from the counter, nudging James forward with his hip.

The guy unzipped his leather jacket, hanging it on the back of a chair, and shook out his hair, running a hand through it as he looked up at the menu.

"Welcome to starbucks," James greeted, pleased that his tone came out even and friendly. "What can I get you?"

"Promise you won't hate me?" the guy asked, with a charming smile.

James tilted his head slightly. "Tricky order?"

"Somewhat."

James grinned. "Gimme."

James set the cup down on the counter, a proud smirk on his face. "A grande, quad, nonfat, one-pump, no-whip, mocha," he murmured, pushing it forward. "Tired?"

"You have no idea," the man replied, accepting the cup. He handed over a note, and added, "keep the change."

"Try me," James offered, putting the money in the til, and the change into the tip jar beside it. "I'm a good listener, and as you can see, I'm not exactly busy."

"I just… have you ever had one of those days, where everything that could go wrong, did? And to top it all off, my ex-boyfriend is in town and going to a party that I'm expected at in a few hours, and I reallllly don't want to go."

James felt a flash of excitement at the mention of a boyfriend, but managed to keep it from his face.

"You… don't want to see him? Or you don't want to see him with someone else?"

The man snorted. "I don't want him to see me alone. He's the smug type, you know? He'll automatically think that I'm flying solo because I'm still hung up on him, rather than the truth, that I'm not interested in hooking up for the sake of hooking up."

James nodded. "I understand that."

With a brief hesitation, the man held his hand out. "I'm Sirius."

James blinked, taking the offered hand. "So am I. But my name is James."

Sirius rolled his eyes good naturedly, shaking his head. "Because I haven't heard that one before. My family has the oddest taste in names.

"You have odder names in your family that Sirius?" James asked, a small smile on his face. He absently wiped the counters, jumping when a door in the back banged. He'd forgotten that Lily was there.

"My little brother is called Regulus," Sirius replied, solemnly, a twinkle in his eyes. "And my cousin is called Bellatrix."

"Wow," James muttered. "Never thought of changing them by deed poll?"

Sirius snorted. "I would be murdered in my bed."

He drained the last of his drink, pushing the empty cup back to James. "Thanks for that, and thanks for listening."

As he shrugged his jacket back on, James panicked, thinking that it would be utterly tragic if he never saw this handsome man again.

"You know, I'm free this evening… if you really don't want to go to the party alone?"

Sirius smiled, shaking his head. "I couldn't submit you to my family. They'd eat you alive."

James heart sunk, and he leant against the counter once more, watching the most fantastic ass he'd ever laid eyes on walk away from him.

With his hand on the door, Sirius turned back, a smile on his face.

"But if you wanted to catch a movie… maybe get a drink? I'm sure I could be persuaded to avoid the party altogether?"

James grinned, looking up at the clock. "I finish in ten minutes. Another coffee? On me this time?"

Sirius nodded, walking back to the counter. "Perhaps without the four shots of espresso this time? I'd like to be able to sit in a seat at the cinema without shaking the whole damn row."

James laughed, nodding. "I'm sure I could find a way to help you get rid of your excess energy."