Tempting Fate

"A shot of light, I see the eyes
What a perfect way to meet."

Sirius knew it was late, he could feel the sleep trying desperately to invade his mind, but he couldn't go home. Not to James and Lily and their perfect little relationship. He couldn't remember why he had agreed to live with them, there was a possibility that he had been drunk when they had made the arrangements.

He slumped forward over the bar, bored out of his wits and sick to death of the lack of attention he seemed to be getting. There weren't even any remotely pretty girls around, only some woman that looked like she hadn't shaved in a few days.

There was an empty shot glass by his head, (muggle bar tenders had never been much good at clearing up after drinkers), and a half full pint of beer at his elbow. Drunk was not the problem, because magical alcohol was so much stronger, but the light headed feeling that came with the amount of drink consumed made him groggy and sleepy.

Staring at the wooden door, with the fluorescent lights so dusty they dimmed the pub rather than illuminated, Sirius wondered how long it would take before another person strolled in, intent on a drink or two. Drown their sorrows and what not.

Turns out, he didn't have to wait long at all.

At first, he thought that the door swinging open would just reveal the average drunk, wandering the streets at midnight searching for a cheap, unpopular bar and wanting nothing more than a fixation of intoxication without getting thrown out. Sirius began to turn his head away, getting caught staring at a drunk never had good consequences, and he caught a glimpse of tight jeans over a shapely body, and a flash of clingy red t-shirt with a band name sprawled across the chest.

He spun his head back around to the woman, the real woman, and tried not to let his jaw drop. She was tan and exotic looking, with her dark brown hair and sapphire eyes, glittering in the low light like jewels. The red of her shirt set off the pink tinge under her dark skinned cheeks, it added to the warmth of her appearance. Sirius mentally questioned her sanity, dressed in only jeans and shirt, it was freezing outside, and he could see the snow falling outside a window.

In his slight intoxication, Sirius watched the woman stride across the dim room and place herself a few seats down from him. She placed an order for a drink with the bar tender, and proceeded to stare at the worn felt that lined the wooden bar. She drummed her finger tips against the top, out of impatience or boredom, he couldn't tell.

There was something angelic about the way she had walked, floated, to the stool, and then the way she sat their, so innocent even though she was ordering alcohol. But stress was lined in her forehead, and her eyebrows knitted together as if worried. Something made Sirius want to move over to her and introduce himself, she looked so fragile and so strong. Someone who he'd love to be associated with, he knew it.

A glass was placed in front of her, a pint of beer almost exactly identical to his own, except for the amount. She immediately gripped the glass with delicate hands, and her eyes roamed around once, then twice. Was she doing something she wasn't supposed to? Sirius thought. Or can she feel me watching her?

It was easy to catch her eye on the second time it drifted past his face, and it wasn't hard to tell that she liked what she saw. There was the approving look in her eyes, the same one Sirius had seen on countless other females throughout his days. He raised his glass to her in a silent cheers, and took a mouthful when she did. There was a question in her look, one he wasn't sure he could answer.

He tried to turn his head away, but her face with all its simplistic beauty was somewhat captivating, the way her mouth curved around the rim of the glass and her eyelashes brushed against her cheek as she looked down. There was nothing Sirius could ignore, and he couldn't escape her either.

For a twenty-two year old with a steady reputation of being quite the ladies man, Sirius could neither think of roping her in, or discarding her as useless. The thought of taking advantage of her, in that vulnerable/tough girl act, made him feel nauseated. But leaving her for some other man to come and claim seemed even worse.

Sirius began to chew on his lip, an annoying habit he'd picked up from Remus. Thoughts buzzed through his mind, keeping him lively in a state of drunken ignorance. This was the first time he had ever been to this particular bar, and this particular time. From her familiarity with the place, and the staff, though she was wary, maybe she was a regular. Came here every night, or at least every Friday night.

When the thinking became too much and too complicated for his sense-depleted brain, Sirius resorted to pressing his chin against the bar and rubbing his nose against his beer glass. Where the foam off of his drink had dribbled onto the felt was a wet patch, but he didn't seem to mind. His mind drifted to and from the woman at the other end of the bar, it was intense curiosity that would have been annoying had he been entirely sober.

From the corner of his eye, Sirius saw the woman down another beer and stretch first her arms, then legs, then back, then neck. It relieved stress and tension built into skin, sinew and bone. He watched her flirt with the bar tender, though a little drunkenly, and either jealousy or worry pinched at his stomach. He couldn't tell which was which, he was beginning to lose track of left and right too.

Without knowing, Sirius was waiting for her to leave, to leave alone. There was a sense of possession in the way he thought about her, looked at her. He didn't own her, and he didn't think he wanted to own her, but it didn't seem right for someone to be with her. The cliched part of his mind whispered that he liked the woman, liked her for the way she held herself, and the way she held her liquor, with such grace. If any part of him believed in love at first sight, it would be reminding him of that idea in a yell.

And then finally, she stood next to her stool, fishing money from her pocket and laying it on the bar. She turned, and for a second, it looked as if she was going to walk towards Sirius, but she didn't. She kept turning, and then kept walking.

But before she had exited the pub, and out into the dropping snow, she shot a look over her shoulder at him and winked.

Sirius could swear he felt his heart stop beating.

Author's Note: Thanks to (and dedicated to) Julia (Wondering What Breakfast Is) for being the unknowing inspiration for the story, and piecing together my character with her own personality. Also for reminding me of my writing duties (because I am such a terrible procrastinator), and for helping me with the title. Or, really, creating the title. Gombehs must have some insane power.

Reviewers are much appreciated. Lyrics at the beginning are from Kisschasy's "What a Perfect Way to Meet"