Warning for swearing.


"James, you're not fooling anyone," Sirius scoffs. "We all know you're here for the bird."

"What bird?" But his blush is telling, as is the way his eyes stray to the counter, where a pretty girl is at the register. Sirius kicks his shin and he yelps. "Oi!"

"We're supposed to be preparing for the game this weekend!" Sirius snaps as James' gaze drifts again. "She's not going anywhere. Oh, for fuck's sake — " He aims another kick at James' shin, harder than before. "You know what, go and ask her out."

"What?" Rather than the pain, it's the shock from Sirius' order that jolts him out of his trance. "Why would I do that?"

"You —" Sirius shakes his head. "I knew I should've coerced Remus into coming with me," he mutters. "Or picked a better spot."

James' attention wanders again and he's hardly listening, so Sirius raises his voice. "Go and ask her out," he repeats. "Clearly, your head's going to be in the clouds until you have some interaction with her."

"But what if she says no?"

"Then handle it like a man," Sirius retorts. "But you're never going to know what her answer is until you. Ask. Her."

James visibly steels himself. "I'm going to do it!" he declares loudly, standing up. "I'm doing it!"

As he heads for the counter, Sirius flips through the playbook — he might as well get some studying done — and gets so absorbed in it that he almost doesn't hear James return.

"She said yes!" James' euphoric voice draws Sirius out of his thoughts. "She agreed to meet me at the bar for drinks after she gets off — can you believe she said yes?"

Sirius sighs, rubbing his temples. "Congratulations," he says sincerely. Hopefully this will get James refocused. "Now, can we get back to —"

"But what am I going to wear? Is this a casual date? Or do I need to wear something dressier? Are sneakers appropriate footwear?"

...He'd been wrong. James' head had not come down from the clouds. If anything, it had reached new heights.

Sighing again, he slams the playbook shut as James chatters on, looking anxious and excited. Clearly, they aren't going to get anything done now.


375 words

Auction 19.2 - Coffee Shop!AU