This took a while. Sorry, I had many things to get done before winter holiday. But here it is! A Marauders story, because I just love the three true ones. It's set, I believe, near the end of their sixth year. Yeah, that should be around it. I hope you like it!

T just because Sirius has a dirty mouth.

Sirius was starting to get annoyed. Sure, it was fun to embarrass Evans and watch her get all flustered as she yelled, but Sirius had begun to notice that James was also being embarrassed by his own self in public.

Not that Prongs was quite serious about wanting to go on a date with her, at least not when he started. Yet lately his grin would flicker every time she said no rudely. It was always the same: he would call her out, she would angrily ask what he wanted, he'd say he wanted to go out with her, she'd tell him there wasn't a chance, usually make some comment about his inflated ego and lack of manners, and leave. He'd laugh it off and go on with whatever he had been doing.

But that repetitive part wasn't exactly what was annoying Sirius, although it had come to be pretty much routine; people barely stopped to watch anymore. He wondered if one more lecture from Evans was worthy of being humiliated.

There he went again.

Sirius was bored. He was supposed to be writing an essay for Charms, but really, he already knew everything, so what was the point? He then settled for throwing parchment balls at Wormtail and complaining to Moony every few seconds to try to make him do his homework for him. He was unsuccessful, of course, but it didn't mean he'd stop.

He wouldn't have given a damn about the portrait hole opening, seeing that it happened quite often, but he recognized the voices. He turned to Remus, who hadn't bothered to lift his head and simply had stopped writing.

"Why are you still talking to me?" Evans's voice reached his hears before he could see her, which happened one second later. She was being followed by – surprise – James, who was holding an orange flower.

"Because I don't find your answer acceptable."

"Oh," she turned around and crossed her arms, causing him to stop. "And what part of no is not an acceptable answer?"

"The whole word."

Evans rolled her eyes angrily. "Just because that's not what your spoiled self wants to hear, doesn't mean it's not an acceptable answer. Now stop following me!" She tried to resume her walking towards the girls' dormitory stairs, but, naturally, James made his way around her and stopped on her way. Sirius saw with the corner of his eye Remus raise his head for the first time and study the two of them.

"I brought you a lily," James said, handing her the flower, "and it was hard to find, so you should feel special."

Evans raised her eyebrows and pointed to the flower. "That is the most cliché thing you've ever come up with, and if you think you can buy me with that, then I'm most definitely NOT going with you anywhere. Now move out of my way, Potter!"

That was usually the part Sirius stared at James until he sat down by his friends trying to pretend nothing had just happened. And he would keep staring. "What?" James asked when he noticed. Sirius shook his head, "We need to talk, man."

"Why are you still doing this?"

Sirius was a straight-to-the-point kind of guy. Their room was empty except for the two of them, who were sat at their respective beds. At first James didn't answer, only occupied himself with conjuring a very small glass vase. He then pointed his wand at it and whispered Aguamenti, making the vase fill with water. Finally, he put the lily inside it.

"What the actual fuck?" Sirius raised his eyebrows at what his mate had just done. He usually just tossed the flower somewhere.

James shrugged. "I don't know. Just feel like keeping this one."

"Why? To be reminded of the rejection?"

Sirius knew he shouldn't have said that the moment the words left his mouth; at least not with that intonation. James's face fell. It was like he'd tossed away a mask he'd been wearing for a long time, showing how not fine he was about the whole thing.

"It's been almost two years," Sirius lowered his tone. "And her answer hasn't changed."

"But that's the point!" He tried to put on a carefree expression again. "I know she's gonna refuse my offers, so I can make whatever I want that nothing's gonna change. That's the fun of it, Padfoot. Seeing her get all worked up and red and angry –"

"To get her attention, James," Sirius interrupted. "It's the reason why you started. You never fooled me. It was the only way she'd pay attention to you. So don't you give me that shit about it all being just a major prank to irritate the life out of her."

James gave up on trying to look like he didn't mind her rejections. Sirius could see right through him, and it would be useless to lie to him right now, seeing that he could tell when his mate was speaking the truth and when he was not. So he got up and ran a hand through his hair, pacing around the room. "Fine. I really want her to say yes for once."

"And I don't want to be the one to crush your hopes here, but it doesn't seem like she's gonna change her mind any time soon."

"Then I'll just keep asking her until she does."

Sirius rolled his eyes and stood. He grabbed James's shoulders to make him stop walking and spoke very seriously. "That is plain ridiculous, man. You're obsessed with her. Do you even hear yourself?"

"Shouldn't Remus be giving me this talk?"

Sirius waved it off. "He's too passive aggressive for that. He's resumed to sigh and shake his head at you in his corner from behind his book. While I'm not taking any more of this, Prongs. You're just torturing yourself. And I have to ask, mate…" He paused, knowing his next question to be touchy. "Is she worth all of this?"

He knew it, just knew it. He knew James would do this. He knew that his friend would close his expression and step back, suddenly very protective of Evans for whatever was worth. That girl had some effect on him.

"No, before you say anything," Sirius raised a hand, ready if he needed to defend himself. "She's pretty, I get it. Her hair is great. Fine. But what has she ever done to deserve your attention and all your effort? She's been turning you down since you've started asking her out, and not once has she considered you a decent person."

"Well, I gave her reason for that."

"And she gave you none for you to be that devoted to her." Just as he was raising his finger to emphasize what he was going to do next, he was interrupted by the door opening and Remus coming in. He inspected the scene before him, taking notice of Sirius's finger in the air, pointed at James, and looked at the latter. "Has he started to say how bad of a person Lily is?"

"I was getting to that part," Sirius answered as he walked back to his bed and leaned against the wood pillar, knowing this conversation was going to take another turn. "But at least now I have witnesses if I get thrown out of the window because of it."

Remus nodded and walked over to his bedside table. He opened the drawer and grabbed a glass of black ink. Simply as that, he started leaving, which kind of infuriated Sirius. "Wha… where are you going?"

His friend stopped at the door. "Ah, I'd just forgotten to get ink to write my Potions essay, so –"

"Tell him," Sirius pointed at James accusatorily, "that he's being fucking ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous!" James complained. "She's being ridiculous. I'm not assaulting her anymore; wasn't that what she complained about?"

"Actually, she complains about a lot more, if I recall accurately," Remus commented. "And if our dearest Pads insists, then I'll say it: you're being ridiculous."

"Are you just saying that?"

Remus sighed and got away from the door, knowing he wouldn't be allowed to leave once he'd come in. If Sirius knew him enough, he was probably regretting ever climbing those stairs when he could have borrowed ink from someone in the common room.

"You are being ridiculous, James," Remus started. "It would have been sweet had you not been an 'arrogant toerag' for the past few years. Now all Lily can see is you constantly pranking her, and that doesn't make her want to give you a chance. She feels like you're playing her. She thinks you're only after her because you know she's the only girl who says no to you and it would be an accomplishment to show you can have her like you can have all the feminine Hogwarts population at your feet."

That seemed to make James's mood even worse; so much he let himself fall on his bed. They all knew Remus was the closest to Evans there and she had probably told him all that herself, which made everything truer.

James took a deep breath. "Then what do I have to do to get her to see I'm not pranking her anymore?"

"Seriously?" Sirius asked and the other two turned to him. "She's been nothing but mean to you all these years and you still are willing to fall at her feet? Don't you have a bit of self-respect? That girl thinks she can treat you like shit and get away with it because you'll be crawling back in no time."

"In all honesty, Sirius," Remus said calmly, "she'd love not to have him crawling back." Feeling James's stare, he turned to him. "You need to stop. And I mean it," he added when James opened his mouth to argue. "Your obsession only makes her dislike you more. If you want her to stop being stubborn and see that you aren't that same annoying child anymore, then you have to show her by being mature and stopping harassing her."

Sirius threw his hands up. "I give up. I'll see if Wormtail wants to grab some snacks from the kitchen so I can throw them at anybody who thinks Evans is worth all of this. You two are crazy." Just as the door closed behind him, a pillow hit it a second too late to get him.

Remus smiled briefly to James. "It's quite easy to act mature. Just do whatever Sirius does not."