I know this is the second chapter I've posted today but they are quite short and I'm hoping to finish this story by the end of the week before I go back to work and won't have as much time to write.

It was Saturday night, and Lee was pacing up and down the living room of the flat. He and Tim had arranged to meet at the pub and he was nervous.

Lucy approached him and stood in front of him, making him stand still. She placed her hands around her neck, and he put his around her waist. "Lee, you don't need to be nervous, it's only Tim. You've been for a drink with him thousands of times".

Lee knew Lucy was right, he was just meeting Tim for a drink, but this would be the first time he had been on his own with him since the revelations of the past week and he couldn't help but feel nervous as things were bound to be different between them. He also had a really important question he wanted to ask Tim. "I know, I'm just being stupid", said Lee.

"You're not being stupid" said Lucy, reassuringly "I know why you're nervous, but it'll be fine honestly, just like old times".

Lee looked into Lucy's eyes and smiled, before kissing her briefly on the lips. "Thanks Lucy. I'd better get going in a minute. What time is Daisy getting here?"

Lucy and Daisy had decided to have a girly night with a film and snacks whilst Lee and Tim caught up at the pub. "Any minute now hopefully, Tim's dropping her off on the way to the pub", replied Lucy.

...

When Lee arrived at the pub Tim was already sitting at the bar. Lee took a seat next to him "Alright?" he said, feeling a bit awkward.

"Yep, you?", answered Tim, not quite sure what to say.

"Erm, so, how's work?" asked Lee, pretending this was normal. They talked for a few minutes about nothing much at all, both avoiding the topic of the him and Lucy, until Lee decided to break the tension,

"Tim, this is silly, since I arrived neither of us has mentioned Lucy once. Talk about the elephant in the room".

"Are you calling my sister an elephant?", joked Tim.

This made Lee laugh and Tim chuckled too. After this they relaxed a little. Tim spoke, "sorry, it's just I'm not sure what to say, Lucy's my sister so we can't talk about the same stuff we normally would when you tell me about a new girlfriend. It would be uncomfortable, and there's things a brother shouldn't know".

Lee rolled his eyes, "it's alright, I'm not about to tell you all about me and Lucy's sex life Tim. I do know she's your sister. Besides, I wouldn't talk about that anyway, even if you weren't her brother, that would be disrespectful".

Tim was pleasantly surprised by the new attitude Lee was displaying. "Since when have you worried about being disrespectful? You had no qualms about giving me the intimate details of your past relationships even if I didn't want them".

Lee answered, "Lucy's not like my previous girlfriends, she's special. I can talk about our relationship without talking about sex you know. It's not all about that, although the sex is incredi…."

Lee stopped himself quickly when he realised what he was saying, he had gone into a bit of a trance when he started talking about Lucy, and forgotten himself for a second. Seeing Tim's face screw up in embarrassment, he added "sorry, Tim, I'll shut up now. Another beer?".

Tim's expression softened, "no thanks, I'm driving, I'll have a Coke though".

Lee and Tim carried on talking, and the more Lee spoke about Lucy, the more Tim could see how much he cared about her. Daisy was right, it appeared that she really did bring out the best in him. Lee noticed that Tim was staring at him and smiling. "Why are looking at me like that?", he asked.

"It's amazing, I was just thinking who are you what have you done with Lee? I've never heard you talk like this before. I never thought you would settle down. You really do love Lucy, don't you?"

Lee replied, "of course I do, I'm marrying her aren't I? I love her more than…beer, more than…football, more than anything".

"Wow", was all Tim could say in response, shaking his head in disbelief. Maybe he had still harboured a tiny bit of doubt that Lee was serious about her before tonight, but certainly not now.

Lee decided this was a good time to ask Tim his question, and feeling nervous again, his face took on a more serious expression. "Actually, Tim, there's something I want to ask you?"

Tim nodded, "Okay, go on".

"Will you be my best man?". Lee was relieved and happy when Tim beamed at him, looking genuinely chuffed. He sounded a bit choked up when he answered "yes, it would be an honour".

Lee lunged at Tim, hugging the life out of him. Tim grinned, Lucy really had changed him, where's the un-tactile Northerner I used to know, he thought to himself.

...

When Lee arrived back at the flat, Lucy was sitting on the sofa. She heard him come in and turned around, relieved to see he looked happy. "How did it go with Tim?", she asked.

Lee sat down next to her. "Really well, actually, he's agreed to be my best man".

Lucy hugged him, "that's brilliant news, I asked Daisy to be my bridesmaid too, and she's really excited…although she did say only if she doesn't have to wear salmon pink…because she doesn't like fish".

Lee rolled his eyes and laughed, typical Daisy. "Did you see a good movie?"

"We actually ended up watching one of my DVDs".

"Why, did she bring a Herbie film again?" asked Lee.

"No, she brought Reservoir dogs. She thought it was going to be a cute family film about swimming dogs. She was a bit surprised when I told her it was actually a crime film with loads of violence".

"An easy mistake to make I suppose, although you'd have thought the cover would have been a bit of a giveaway!", said Lee, ever amused by Daisy's cluelessness.

Lucy snuggled into Lee, smiling contentedly "I'm so glad it went well tonight, it's really important to me that our relationship doesn't come between you and Tim".

"Tim thinks you've changed me", Lee announced.Lucy looked at him, questioning,

"if I have, it wasn't on purpose, I wouldn't ever try to change you", she said, suddenly concerned that Lee might think she had.

"I know that. Don't look so worried Lucy...though he's right, in a way. Being with you has made me a better person".

This made Lucy feel a bit embarrassed, and she smiled shyly. She forgot her concern when Lee reached over and gently stoked the back of his finger along her cheek, before moving even closer to her, until he was just a hair's breadth away. He ran the same finger across her bottom lip, causing her to open her mouth slightly, then replaced his finger with his lips.

They kissed for a while before Lucy pulled away and went to get up.

"You okay?", asked Lee, wondering why she had broken their kiss.

"Yes, I thought I might go to bed", she answered, standing up.

Lee's concerns were alleviated when he noticed the playfulness in her eyes but he played along.

"But it's only ten o'clock? You can't be tired yet?", said Lee, just a hint of teasing in his tone.

Lucy smiled, and whispered "I didn't say anything about going to sleep, I was hoping you might come with me".

Lee grinned and shot up from the sofa. Lucy giggled at how quickly Lee had moved, took his hand and led him to the bedroom.