"The Danger in Starting a Fire" by Meg.

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter…I simply enjoy using the characters conjured up J.K. Rowling for my own sweet pleasure.

Pairing: Lily Evans and Sirius Black

A/N: I'd explored this a little bit with my one shot fic "Temptation", and I decided it was worth a slightly longer go. :)

….

He hadn't meant to kiss her.

One minute, his mind was pleading with him not to do it. Don't kiss Lily Evans, don't do it. She's your best mate's girl. Don't. Do. It. He knew it was all wrong, but they way his lips melted into hers as they kissed was telling him an entirely different story. He'd expected her to push him away, surely she couldn't want this the way he had wanted it from the moment he'd laid eyes on her. The delicate fingers that had gripped his jumper sleeve so tightly when he'd leaned in, a warning, had slowly released. He could feel the tension that had risen up in her wash away with the passing seconds. Now the tension had been passed to him; it was blooming in his belly like hot blood from a gun shot wound.

It had begun innocently enough. Sirius had come to the library nearly an hour before to break up the little study session that James and Lily had decided to have, James had been far too much of a book worm tonight for his taste. But, when he had arrived, it seemed that not much studying had been going on at all. He could hear the angered whispering from several feet away, even behind several bookcases laden with dusty old tomes. From around the corner, he could see the young couple at the corner of one table towards the back clearly having an argument, about what he couldn't tell. The dark haired boy's body language screamed anger, while Lily appeared to be trying her hardest to not cry. She'd hidden her face in her hands, her soft auburn hair falling over her eyes as James stood, shoving his chair back.

"Ugh...This is ridiculous, Lily." He forced out from between his teeth, words seething with bitter resentment. "I'm not asking for anything that you haven't already given me."

Sirius sighed inaudibly when James stormed pass, not seeing his best friend lurking behind the row of bookcases. James's mood was clearly rancid and Sirius didn't feel like being on the receiving end of what he'd seen his friend unleash on his poor girlfriend. It wasn't until he heard the soft choking sound of Lily finally crying that Sirius even considered staying in the library. Generally, he tried to stay out of his friends' relationship problems, even those as close to him as James and Lily. However, Sirius could never walk away from a crying woman, it simply wasn't something he could bring himself to do. While he prided himself on being slick and having some impressive skill in dealing with women, he was still a gentlemen deep down. The fact that Lily was genuinely one of his friends as of late made it impossible to do.

When he stepped out from his hiding place, he was greeted with Lily crying face down in her book. He sobs were muffled to the point of being faint, but it was still easy to tell just how upset the was. Quietly, he closed the space between them. He didn't want to startle her by touching her shoulder, but he didn't know any other way to get her attention without drawing too much attention to the situation. She jumped slightly, quickly seizing up and whipping her head around to see who had touched her. It was clear from the look on her face that she had expected it to be James, as was the mild disappointment that clouded her bright emerald eyes immediately. Sirius cracked a small smirk and tried not to take it personally.

"Lily, are you alright?" he said, inclining his head a little to her, voice low and deep.

With one long finger, she wiped a tear from the milky pale skin below her left eye. "I'm fine. I have no idea what you're talking about."

Sirius couldn't help but let his smirk break into a lopsided smile. He motioned towards the chair that James had left out in the narrow hallway between the library tables and the bookcases. When she didn't react, he sat down and pushed the books in front of him toward the center of the waxed oak table. "What I'm talking about?"

"What?"

"Nothing," he murmured. "What's all going on with you and Potter?"

Lily's soft look of distress suddenly shifted to sharp annoyance. She cleared her throat and tried to look like she'd only been momentarily distracted from her potions work by the whole thing. It didn't help that her book was upside down. "God, you're subtle...Straight to the point there Black?...Like I'm going to tell you, Sirius. It's none of your damn business."

"Clearly." he cocked an eyebrow at her. "However, sweet Lily, has that ever stopped me from being a nosy git before?"

"No, I suppose not." she sighed, chewing her lip. "Could you just be nice for once and leave me alone? I'm not in the mood for this."

Lily began packing up her books distractedly. She mumbled to herself as she piled her things and began trying to shove the overlarge collection of books, parchment and quills into her canvas school bag. She wasn't having a terrible amount of success.

"Aww, Evans, you're so damn cute when you're flustered." His words came out before he could stop them. His default was to be cocky and mildly antagonistic with most people, but Lily had a way of bringing that side of Sirius out tenfold. He knew it wasn't the best idea at the moment, but deep down he got such pleasure from getting a rise out of her that it was impossible to resist any opportunity.

"Black! What the fu..." She spat out before she was cut short by his lips over hers.

The kiss was gentle and sweet. Part of him knew it was an apology for being an asshole to her, and the other part of him acknowledged that it, in and of itself, had made him into a much bigger asshole. When she parted her lips to allow him to deepen the kiss, it surprised even herself. She kissed him back with an intensity she didn't know she was capable of. They played off each other, tongues caressing and dancing, until the tension was too much to take. The electricity coursing from his open mouth into hers surged down her throat and into her core, making her breath catch. When she broke the kiss, the air rushing into her lungs shot tingles throughout her body, raising goose bumps on every inch of her skin.

She stared at him, wide eyed.

"Lily..." Before Sirius could utter another syllable, the young girl he had just kissed was gone. She'd run away in such a hurry that she'd forgotten all of her things on the table, leaving him in the back of the dark library, alone. He could still feel the warmth of her on his lips, taste her sweet breath.

He hadn't meant to kiss her, but he had. And once done, it could never be undone.

….

Please let me know what you think :)

Meg