Written for the Jily Trope Fest on Tumblr.

Huge thanks to my lovely betas Maz & gryffindormischief!

Lily frowned and shook her head, her red-rimmed eyes pleading as she hugged herself.

"I don't know, Sirius. I don't really feel like partying right now… This has been a really crappy day."

"I know, love, and the offer to beat up that Snape guy still stands. But that's precisely why you need to come with me. My friend throws great parties and you need to go out and forget all about that loser." He smiled at her; that familiar, half-mocking bad boy smile. "Lily, today's been the worst for you. All I'm saying is, you should end it on a good note, yeah?"

The corners of Lily's lips quirked. The smile was wan and wobbly, but it was a smile nonetheless. Sirius was the sort of a person who didn't take no for an answer – and his enthusiasm was always oddly contagious, much like the flu.

"Well, all right," she said, heaving a dramatic sigh for Sirius' benefit. "Since this is your friend we're talking about I guess I'll do him the favour of checking this party out."

"Graceful and generous. I'll make sure my friend appreciates this sacrifice of your valuable time."

"He'd better. Besides, we both know you would have kept hounding me about this party until I agreed to go."

"Me? I'd never do such a thing," Sirius denied, his grey eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Sure you wouldn't," Lily grumbled, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "When is this party?"

"It starts at seven."

"Well, I'd better go and fix myself up. Don't want to show up with a blotchy face and tear stains."

"Yeah, the emo look is out of fashion," Sirius teased. "I'll come pick you up so we can go together."

"Thanks, Sirius. Really."

"No problem, love."

As doubtful as Lily had been about Sirius' suggestion, the party actually was pretty great. Much like the flat it was being held in: a spacious loft in one of the fancier parts of town. Whoever Sirius' friend was, he or she must've had some serious money.

The music was good, the drinks were flowing and the cheerful atmosphere was through the roof. Sirius had disappeared somewhere – out for a fag or to see his mates – but Lily didn't mind. Her mood had definitely improved from earlier; the hurt, anger and sadness pushed aside as she lost herself to the beat of the songs thumping from the speakers. Her face flushed from dancing, she navigated the crowd of people she'd never met, trying to make her way over to the drinks table. She pulled her mobile phone out of her back pocket, wanting to check the time, when someone bumped against her back.

At first, she didn't even realise the phone had flown from her hand, her attention stolen by the wafting smell of beer accompanying the cold, wet patch she felt spreading over her shoulder blade.

"All right, love?" someone asked, and Lily looked up to see a young man with messy black hair and an easy grin. His hazel eyes carried a self-confident, carefree glimmer, and Lily recognised the type immediately.

"I'm fine," she lied in a deadpan voice. Then, she realised the bloke was holding a phone. Her phone. "That's mine."

"I know," he smirked. "And don't worry, it didn't hit the floor. My catch was spectacular."

"Thanks," Lily muttered, and held out her hand.

But instead of handing over her phone, the young man grasped her hand and turned it over, placing a fleeting gentlemanly kiss on the back.

Perhaps on a good day, she might have found it charming. But this wasn't a good day, and Lily's shoulders slumped as she suddenly felt weary to the bone. This was the day when her oldest friend had insulted her to her face, forcing her to slam the door shut on their entire relationship. It had been a draining, horrible day, and the last thing she needed was some cocky clown chatting her up.

"Give back my phone, please," she said, struggling to maintain even the thinnest semblance of politeness.

"I will if you go out with me, love," he returned, his words a rush.

"Keep it, then," she snapped, her patience run out. "I won't go out with a big-headed berk like you."

"Ouch, don't hold back on my account. Here you go."

Lily's eyes flashed and she snatched the phone from him. She pocketed it and turned around, swiftly marching away from him and the party.

Outside, the evening air was cold and wet with a faint misty drizzle. Tears burning in her eyes again, her angry strides clipping on the cobbled street, she sent Sirius a quick text: Heading home. Some idiot spilled his drink on me.

Her phone beeped a few minutes later, showing Sirius' reply. Sorry to hear, text me later so I know you got home safe.

A flutter of warmth eased the heavy knot of anger and sadness pressing on her chest. Perhaps, in the end, how long you had known a person had little bearing to how close your relationship would be. She had lost one of her oldest friends today and frankly it had been a long time coming; they had been growing apart for years. And then there was Sirius, who'd become such a big support even though they'd only been friends for a few months. Really, she was better off this way: she'd rather have Sirius and his sweet concerns than Severus and his thinly-veiled judgement.

The train ride, coupled with spending the weekend back home in Derbyshire, had left Lily feeling tired, but her mood improved the moment she stepped out onto the platform at St. Pancras International and saw Sirius waving at her, a wide grin on his face.

"You didn't have to come to pick me up," she told him after he had released her from a bear hug.

"Yes I did," he countered, relieving Lily of her luggage. "There's something I want to show you, if you don't mind a detour."

"I'm in no hurry," Lily replied as the two of them followed the crowd, making their way to the tube station.

"So how was the family holding up?" Sirius asked as they waited for the train to arrive.

"They're good, but it's still awkward as hell. I think Mum's coming around, she was trying hard to keep the peace."

"Really? And it only took her three years!"

"Better late than never. Dad's trying to be supportive now that I'm going to get my Master's, but deep down I think he's still disappointed. And Petunia never misses an opportunity to tell me that I've made a huge mistake with my career choices."

The train pulled to the station, and Sirius bent close to whisper into Lily's ear. "I think Petunia needs a chill pill."

Lily laughed as she followed Sirius into the train. Once they had sat down she turned to him. "You might be onto something there. Petunia's the unchillest person on the planet; any pill would be an improvement. But you know how it is." She grimaced. "I wasn't just an A student, I was an A star student. Everyone was expecting me to go forth and become a doctor or something. I'm not sure they'll ever forgive me for going into an art school."

"They will, once you're world-famous! Trust me, I'm an expert in parental disappointment." Sirius paused and frowned. "'Sides, even though you didn't pursue science you're still just as much an overachiever: you got into the MA programme in RCA, the best art school in the country – maybe the whole world! If anything, your parents should be proud."

Lily shrugged. "They just don't see art as a viable career."

"That's bollocks. Have they seen your stuff? Because it's brilliant."

"Thanks. I've showed them some of my work and Mum is encouraging, says she loves it, and Dad is, well, himself… Petunia doesn't get it, at all, and doesn't even try to hide it."

"Your sister is so horrid she almost makes me think Reg isn't half bad."

"At least I'm not alone in the sucky sibling club."

"Definitely not. And your mum's a saint compared to mine."

"All right, enough family talk. How's the job hunt?"

"On hold."

"Why?" Lily frowned.

"I'll tell you later."

Lily shook her head but Sirius didn't appear to be forthcoming. Probably didn't want to get into it while they were on the tube. Lily decided to let it go and change the topic.

"So… where are we going?" she asked.

"Brixton," Sirius said with a wide grin.

Lily's eyebrow arched. "What's in Brixton?"

"You'll see."

Lily felt intrigued but didn't ask any more questions. Best not ruin the surprise since Sirius seemed keen to give her one.

They got off the tube at Brixton station and made their way back above ground. Walking down the street, there was a bounce in Sirius' step and Lily could almost feel his excitement crackling in the air.

Finally, he stopped in front of a red brick building just a couple of yards away from a bus stop. The large windows showed an empty commercial property on the ground floor, desolate in its bare bones state. Sirius flashed Lily a victorious smirk as he dug into the pocket of his leather jacket – and to Lily's surprise, his hand emerged from the pocket accompanied by a cheery jingle of keys. He unlocked the solid glass door and then held it open, bidding Lily to step in with gentleman's flourish.

"All right, where are we?" Lily asked, her words and footsteps echoing in the vacant space.

"My new workplace," Sirius declared, his chest puffing.

"What, you've taken up construction now?" Lily snorted. "Or interior decoration, maybe?"

"Nah, I'll leave the decorating to you. I'm thinking there could be a mural on that wall over there – I can just picture you sitting in that corner with my special Cafe-au-Lily and doodling into your sketchbook like you always did at the old place."

"Are you kidding?"

"I'm totally serious," he quipped, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Cut the lame jokes, please, and explain," Lily retorted, tapping her foot against the tiled floor.

"Well… I actually liked being a barista, you know? I just figured I wouldn't have much luck getting a job in another coffee shop. Doesn't look too good in a résumé, getting sacked for punching a customer."

"From what you told me, that Lestrange bloke totally deserved it."

"He did, bloody bastard… but even so, try telling that to potential employers."

"Yeah, that is a dilemma."

"Then, I figured, since it would be very unlikely anyone would hire me, I'd just have to make my own coffee shop."

Lily gaped at him, torn between amusement and horror. "You didn't!"

"Well there's still quite a way to go, as you can see." Sirius made a sweeping gesture. "But I did buy the property and all that boring paperwork's pending."

"But… Wha – How?" Lily shook her head. "How could you afford all this?"

"I couldn't," Sirius admitted with a lopsided grin. "Not on my own. But I got money from Prongs so I made him a partner."

"What, he had all that money just lying around so he gave it to you? Just like that?"

Sirius shrugged. "We've been tight since we met at thirteen. Really, he's more of a brother to me than Regulus is."

"Well, clearly Prongs isn't a barista, I don't think pouring coffee would pay well enough for this!"

"Prongs doesn't get paid that well, either," Sirius said. "He works at this NGO so a lot of the workload is volunteer-based… But his parents are old money and haven't done badly for themselves, either; they hold a few patents and whatnot and Prongs is their only son, so…"

"Ah, right. I forgot for a moment that you're one of the silver spoon folks."

"Was, until I walked out," Sirius said, crossing his arms. "And I haven't looked back since."

"I know," Lily sighed. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just – most days it feels like we have so much in common, you know? Struggling to make the ends meet, disappointing our families… And then I remember that while you and your mates were making mischief at Eton, I was stuck in Cokeworth."

"Yeah, our backgrounds are different. But does it really matter how we got here?"

For a moment, Lily just stared at him in silence. Then, she stepped over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"I guess not," she murmured, letting her head rest against his shoulder.

"So, about that mural," Sirius drawled. He ruffled her hair, and Lily could hear the grin in his voice. "Are you on board?"

She looked up and beamed at him.

"Absolutely."

"This is slowly starting to look like a coffee shop," James grinned, walking across the space that had only a few weeks earlier seemed so desolate. He studied the room until his gaze was drawn to the left where a faint outline webbed across the entire wall, creating a swirling meadow of flowers, leaves and vines. In the centre stood the bust of a deer, the flowering vines weaving around its antlers, tying it to the floral background. The style seemed fresh and modern, almost organic with the fluid lines crawling along the stark white surface.

"This is the famous mural I've been hearing about?"

"Yeah," Sirius said, turning to stare at the artwork on the wall. "She came up with a whole bunch of sketches but we both liked that design the best. Obviously there's still plenty of painting to be done until it's finished; the stag will be in full colour but the flowers in the background will only be partially coloured. When it's all done it'll look amazing."

"Even just the outline looks brilliant." James adjusted his glasses and turned to Sirius. "Where did you find this bird, anyway?"

"I've told you about Lily before, haven't I? She was a regular at the old coffee shop. I'd seen her around often, and she always seemed nice enough, greeting and thanking with a smile. But then I started noticing the sketchbook she always seemed to carry, and sometimes she'd even doodle on the napkins. She made this whole "Thank you for the coffee" thing at one point so next time she came in I made sure to bring that up and well… I think we became friends that very moment."

"She must be someone special, then," James said, slanting Sirius a curious look. "You don't open up to people that easily."

"She's special, all right, though not in the way you're probably thinking," Sirius replied, crossing his arms. "We're just friends."

"Yeah, sure, because no one's used that defence before," James snorted, his hazel eyes twinkling.

"Lily's cool but I don't fancy her. I guess it's weird we got so close so quick, but we have something in common we sort of bonded over."

"Really? What's that, then?" James asked, curious in spite of himself.

Sirius was quiet for a moment before he answered. "Parental disappointment."

James grimaced. "I'm sorry. Are her parents twats like yours?"

"Not as much, they just don't approve of her career choices." Sirius shrugged. "They don't think there's much future in painting."

James whipped around, to study again the mural's outline flowing lightly and effortlessly across the wall. Even in black and white, the scenery somehow looked vibrant.

"I don't know too much about art, but with talent like that I don't think her parents have much cause to worry," he remarked.

Sirius nodded. "I'm with you, mate. I mean she's a pathological overachiever, she's starting in the Royal College of Art in the autumn, wants to get a Master's degree in painting."

"Woah. And her parents are disappointed? They must be mad."

"Yeah, I don't get it either. But really, Lily reminds me a bit of Remus, actually. Dry sense humour, nose in a book, practical. I think you'd like her."

"She does sound great. Guess you'll have to introduce her to me some time," James replied with a half-grin.

"I'm sure you'll meet her sooner or later. She's promised to help out at the grand opening."

James smiled, glancing around him. "You've cleaned up this place so nicely and it isn't even halfway done yet. I can't wait to see how it'll look all finished."

"Thanks, mate. Couldn't have done it without you."

"Don't mention it, I'm happy to help. Anyway, I'd love to stay and chat but unfortunately there's a group of children out there waiting for me."

"Don't worry about it, go have a good practise, coach."

"Cheers. Oh, Mum was wondering if you're coming over for lunch on Sunday."

"Hell would freeze over before I'd miss out on Mrs Potter's roast."

"Great, I'll tell her you're coming." With one last grin and a carefree wave, James turned to leave, casting one more side glance at the outline of the mural as he walked out of the coffee shop in progress.

The morning had been cool and damp, but as the sun had climbed up the late July sky, it had turned out to be a warm day, and the clouds had mercifully withheld their rain so far. Lily had draped her scarf on top of her messenger bag as she had stepped off the tube and now, stepping out into the warm daylight, considered peeling off her jacket, too. She started up the street, fishing her phone out of her back pocket so she could check the time, and found there was still plenty of it left before Marlene would get off work – they had promised to go shopping together. Lily sighed, wondering what she should do to kill the time. Maybe sit somewhere and try to sketch?

She was still trying to decide her next course of action, when a polite male voice spoke up from behind.

"Excuse me, Miss? You dropped your scarf."

Lily turned around, and for a stretching second the world grew perfectly still. Her green eyes widened, her mouth opened, as she gaped at the lanky young man with glasses and untamed black hair.

"You –!" she gasped, at the precise moment the man managed a small, shocked, "Oh."

"You're from the party," Lily continued, her initial surprise wearing off. She had never expected to meet the guy again and eyed her scarf warily, which he was still clutching. He wouldn't try to pull off something stupid this time, would he?

Perhaps something of her thoughts showed on her face, or he noticed the direction of her gaze. Either way, he scrambled to offer her back the scarf he'd picked up off the pavement.

"Er, here."

"Thanks," Lily muttered, tying the scarf around the shoulder strap of her bag.

"Um, listen…" the man started, shuffling his feet and pulling at his hair. The merry twinkle Lily remembered was gone from his hazel eyes, the look he directed towards her was serious, maybe even a little sheepish. "I'm… I'm sorry about before. I shouldn't have held your phone hostage. I was a little pissed and – well, that's no excuse is it? I was a real twat, and I'm sorry."

Lily's lips parted in surprise. Considering how arrogant he'd acted at the party, how suave he had striven to be as he had tried to chat her up, an apology was the last thing she had expected from him.

And yet, mixed in with her shock was a twinge of guilt. It slowly churned in her gut until she bit her lip and met his gaze.

"I'm the one who's sorry," she said with a sigh. "I shouldn't have lashed out like that. I was having a bad day – one of the worst days in my life, actually – and I guess I took some of my anger out on you. Which, in hindsight, was pretty unfair of me."

A silence settled over them, heavy with embarrassment, as the two of them stood on the pavement, both awkwardly staring at their toes.

"Well," he ventured at last, his voice light and a small grin tugging at his lips, "I guess that makes us even."

The casual comment sucked the tension out of the air between them, and Lily's shoulders slumped in relief.

"Yeah," Lily agreed softly. "I guess it does."

His grin grew and spread – and Lily found the corners of her own lips quirking up in response.

"No hard feelings then?" he asked, and she noted that his eyes were alight again.

"None whatsoever."

He held out his hand and Lily shook it. His skin was warm against hers, his grip firm.

And then, once again they were left to stand in the silence. He looked at her and there was a slight crease on his forehead. His fingers twitched against his thigh and mouth opened but he pressed it shut the next second.

"It was nice to meet you," he finally said, offering her a quick smile.

"You too," Lily replied, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Bye."

"Take care."

With one final nod, Lily turned around and started up the street again.

As she walked away, she mused about life's peculiarities, and the way people's paths crossed on occasion; that somehow in a city as big as London she had chanced to find him again. It almost felt like fate. Still, she was glad that she had been able to meet him and apologise. It was curious, too – he didn't seem to be as bad a person as their unfortunate first encounter had painted him to be. After all the bravado at the party, he turned out to be just a normal bloke. And he hadn't looked bad, either - certainly this normal bloke on the street was more attractive than the rude guy she'd remembered from the party. Idly, Lily wondered what he had wanted to say, right before they had bid farewell.

And then, with a little jolt in the pit of her stomach, a peculiar thought bubbled to the forefront of her mind: that if they had met under better circumstances, if he had asked her out in less awkward a manner, if she hadn't been having one of the worst days of her life… Perhaps, she might have said yes.

Lily shook her head but a fond smile lingered. Lily found the smile resurfacing sporadically for the rest of the day, as she met with her friend and headed for the shops. Even Marlene noticed: she raised her eyebrows and gave her one of those long, meaningful looks, but thankfully she didn't ask her any questions so Lily didn't have to explain to her about her chance encounter with the bloke she could have dated.

Lily heard the chime of a bell followed by male voices somewhere in the background, but the sounds did not really register in her brain. She was too wrapped up in her own bubble, caught in a world that had shrunk down to just the music flowing in from her earphones, the paintbrush in her hand and the wall spreading out in front of her. Her head bobbed to the rhythm of the music as she carefully coloured in the flowers, making them bloom in bright reds, yellows, blues and purples.

Pursing her lips, Lily took a few steps back and tilted her head to see the overall effect, when a hand tapped her shoulder.

Lily turned around to see Sirius grinning. She set down her painting tools and pulled out her earphones, finally noticing two other young men standing behind him.

She blushed, feeling self-conscious and acutely aware of her frumpy, paint-stained clothes and the haphazard bun she had forced her hair into.

"Look!" Sirius enthused, propping up a cardboard box. "Moony and Wormy came bearing gifts!"

Lily peeked into the box and saw a row of beige cardboard take-away cups. She picked one up and admired it, her stomach flopping in excitement.

"They came out so well," she grinned, turning the cup in her hand.

"They're great!" Sirius beamed at her.

"I really like the logo design," the shorter and stouter of Sirius's friends piped up, earning another quick blush from Lily.

She dropped the cup back into the box before looking up, her green eyes sheepish. "Thanks. I hadn't really done that sort of thing before so I wasn't sure how it'd turn out…"

"God, Lily, stop being so modest." Sirius whacked her on the shoulder and walked off to set the cardboard box down on the counter.

"Hi," the other man greeted, stepping forward. "It's nice to finally meet you, Lily. I'm Remus."

"And I'm Peter," the shorter man offered.

"Nice to meet you two," Lily replied, stifling her urge to fidget.

"The mural's coming along great, too," Remus said, nodding at the wall behind Lily.

"Yeah, I like the bright colours," Peter agreed.

"Thank you." Lily tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. "There's still a while to go, but it's starting to come to life."

"Isn't this great?" Sirius spoke from behind the counter. He filled the kettle with water and put it on. "We almost have the whole gang together!"

"It'd be even better if Prongs were here too…" Peter said.

"Where is he, anyway? He shouldn't have work or practice, this time of the day."

"The kids have a game," Sirius shrugged over the clinking of mugs he was setting on the counter.

"Oh, right," Remus shook his head. "Should've known."

"Kids?" Lily asked, her gaze flitting between the three young men.

"Prongs coaches a junior football team," Sirius explained.

"Under twelve year olds," Peter added helpfully.

Lily crossed her arms, her eyebrow arching. "Wait. Let me get this straight. Prongs works at a charity organisation and coaches kids? On top of being a rich heir you're telling me he has a heart of gold, too?"

Sirius and his mates shared a look.

"Pretty much."

"That sounds too good to be true," Lily retorted, looking sceptical.

"He is not without his faults," Remus admitted. "But you couldn't ask for a better friend."

"You sure he isn't a dashing hero who's escaped from some romance novel?"

Sirius snorted. "Romance novel heroes are not like Prongs. They're edgy bad boys. Like me."

"First, how do you know what romance novel heroes are like, hmm? And second, you're not edgy, Sirius – you're an idiot."

Sirius paused in his tea-making preparations to shoot Lily a dirty glare. "I most certainly am not!"

"You kinda are, though, mate," Peter said.

"Yeah," Remus nodded. "A normal person wouldn't just decide to open a coffee shop on a whim after getting fired."

"Thanks for your support, Moony. No tea for you!"

"I am being supportive. I think it's great you're following your passion and I like what you're doing here. All I'm saying is, you're not the most business-oriented person I know and sometimes I'm worried you jumped into this thing before thinking it all through."

Sirius studied Remus for a moment, his face scrunched up in a disgruntled expression. But then he sighed and returned pouring steaming water into the waiting mugs.

"All right. Fine. Fair point. Now gather around you lot and pick your poison," he said, setting a tin filled with an assortment of tea bags on the counter.

A moment later, as they all sat on the counter, cradling their mugs of tea in their hands, lulled into a pleasant, everyday conversation occasionally punctuated by laughter, Lily's thoughts wandered back to the missing member of the group. She went through what she knew of him, reminding herself of the new things she had learned today and bit her lip. To her, this Prongs character still sounded a bit too much like every mother's ideal son-in-law and she couldn't help but wonder if the blokes were using too rosy colours to paint a picture of their mate.

Lily hummed, carefully sipping the tea so as not to burn her tongue. She would believe it when she saw it.

The bright smile on Lily's face was a far cry from the polite and tight, sometimes forced, service smiles of people working in any kind of customer service. Excitement bubbled in her veins, the energy of the room fuelling her good mood. After all the long weeks of hard work, it was great to see the coffee shop open and full of new patrons. She allowed herself a moment to pause, to let her gaze sweep over the people sitting at the tables, chatting, laughing, cradling cups in their hands, sipping their coffee and tea. Then, she hurried to clear a table near the door.

Overhearing admiring comments about her mural made Lily blush, but she felt more pride towards Sirius than she did for her own work. She glanced up while setting an empty cup on her tray, to where he stood behind the counter, wearing his black apron and his long hair up in a bun, his face alight with a crooked grin. He was in his element, and Lily couldn't be happier for him. He had managed to pull it off.

Honestly, she'd had her doubts. And she hadn't been alone; Remus, too, had voiced his concerns once before. With Sirius' reckless and a little bit flighty personality, he wasn't the kind of a person Lily would commend on their business sense and entrepreneurship. But there he was, running his coffee shop and proving them wrong.

Lily finished clearing out the table and hummed as she swept the smooth new surface with a wet rag. Behind her, the bell jingled, announcing the arrival of a new customer. A smile ready on her lips, she turned to greet them.

But no sound came out of her throat as she stood there, the wet rag in hand, just as shocked as the young man who had stopped in the doorway.

They stared at one another, the disbelief in his hazel eyes mirroring her own.

And then the moment shattered, with Sirius shouting over the throng of chatter in the shop.

"Prongs! You're late to our grand opening! What kind of a partner are you?"

The young man tore his gaze off Lily and stepped in, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry, Padfoot. I'll explain later. How can I help?"

"Wait," Lily cut in, her voice a shade shriller than usual. "You're Prongs?"

Her mind reeled, trying to reconcile the Rude Phone Guy turned An Ordinary Bloke with the Golden Boy who worked at an NGO and coached kids and had helped to fund this very coffee shop.

"Yeah," Prongs replied. He was giving her a quizzical stare now.

Lily, however, was still struggling to grasp the implications of this turn of events. Now that she thought about it, hadn't the very party where they had met been hosted by a friend of Sirius'? Then, maybe… Oh. Oh god. It was starting to make sense.

"That's what Sirius calls me anyway," he continued, his brow creased in a puzzled frown. "My real name's James. James Potter." He offered his hand to her, like he had before during their chance encounter on the street and Lily clasped it with her nerveless fingers.

"Lily Evans."

His hand froze mid-shake, and his widened eyes quickly flickered towards the mural on the wall on the left and then back to Lily.

"You're Lily?" His grip of her hand slackened. "The artist?" He swallowed, his expression reminiscent of a deer caught in the headlights. Lily knew that sensation of utter surprise too well, she had been feeling it herself a few short seconds ago.

"The one and only," she replied. A small, wry smile twisted the corners of her lips.

"Wow," he breathed. "OK. Didn't see that one coming."

"Tell me about it." The look Lily was giving him had turned from surprised to appraising.

"Prongs!" Sirius, in between customers, hollered from behind the counter. "If you wanna start being helpful, the back office's that way."

"I'm going, Padfoot," James promised. He hesitated a moment, then turned to Lily. "It was nice to finally meet you. Er, properly, that is. I've heard a lot of good things about you."

"Likewise," Lily said, earning a small parting grin from him. She watched him go until his back disappeared from view. Then she shook her head, forcing herself to get a grip and get back to work.

Evening had fallen. The customers had left and the shop had closed its doors, though a small group of friends still remained, standing around the counter champagne glasses in hand.

"To Padfoot and his business," Remus toasted. Laughter and the clink of glasses echoed in the empty room.

"Congratulations!" Lily hugged Sirius and he returned it so wholeheartedly she nearly spilled her drink on his back.

"You did it, mate!" Peter enthused.

"I sure did! It went great, didn't it?" Sirius beamed at them.

As Lily sipped her drink, she looked around and noticed their celebration was one person short. She left the boys to chat among themselves and crept towards the back office. She found James inside, as she had suspected, sitting at the desk counting the till. She leaned against the doorframe. It could've been the champagne, but watching him frown in concentration and the way his dark hair stuck up every possible way sent a warm, nervous flutter up from her stomach into her chest.

"You're missing the party, James."

He jumped a little at the sound of her voice, but smiled as he turned to regard her.

"I'll be with you lot shortly, Lily. I'm almost done here."

"Why are you here, anyway?"

"It's Sirius's big day. I thought I should deal with the trivial stuff and let him have his moment." James shrugged.

Lily wasn't surprised. This was the Prongs she had heard of, the one his friends thought so highly of. Guess they'd had the right of it after all.

"But since you're here…" James muttered, pushing up his glasses, and began to shuffle through the mess of papers, bills and receipts littering the desk. He found what he'd been looking for, a plain envelope. "This is for you."

Lily crossed the room and took it. Unable to hold her curiosity, she peeked aside. Her eyebrows hiked up.

"I volunteered to help Sirius today," she said.

"I know. But you've been working hard, too: you designed the logo, helped Sirius pick out tiles and tables. You painted the mural. You've earned your pay cheque, Evans."

"I didn't do any of that for money," Lily retorted, frowning at him.

"I never said you did," he smiled. "But you've earned it all the same."

"Thank you."

"No, Lily. Thank you." The stare James gave her was so sincere Lily blushed.

"Here." She set her half-full glass of champagne down on the desk. "Don't spend all evening cooped up here. You've earned the chance to let your hair down, too."

"Cheers. I'll join the party soon enough," James promised.

Lily was about to leave, when his voice stopped her one last time.

"Ah, could you pass me that stack of receipts right there?"

Lily already had the receipts in hand when the thought struck her. She halted and cradled them to her chest. She looked at him and a smirk bloomed on her lips.

"I will," she said, green eyes glimmering, "if you go out with me."

The End.