Stood Up

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everything related belongs first, and foremost, to JK Rowling, and then to her partnerships with Bloomsbury, Scholastics, Warner Bros., etc.

Summary: 'Both of our dates abandoned us' au

His fingers strummed impatiently on the table top, his usually relaxed dispositions stiffening as anxiety rose in his features. Weary hazel eyes threw a contemptuous look at his watch, as if it was guilty of causing him misery. Of course that couldn't be further from the truth. Really it was his own fault for getting his hopes up over something Sirius had set up for him. A blind date? Was he stupid?

The small hand on his watch shifted to the six and he let out an exhale, rising from the table to sit at the bar. He slid onto a vacant seat next to a girl with beautiful auburn hair. With his eyes focused forward, he quietly asked the bartender for a double whiskey – grateful he hadn't driven for once.

"Bad night?" the girl asked, teasingly, from his left. He looked around to see her nursing her own whiskey.

"You could say that." He thanked the bartender before downing a large gulp. After exhaling in relief from the alcohol burn, he nodded to her drink. "You too?"

She smiled, tipping her glass in his direction, before muttering, "Indeed," and taking a sip.

"Ah. Well…is this when we exchange horror stories and decide who's had it worse, then? Because mine isn't too thrilling. Just been stood up."

The girl laughed, her loose auburn hair shaking joyfully around her shoulders. And she did not look likely to stop.

"What?" he said, after a torturous moment, his features hardening in defensiveness.

"Nothing, nothing," she assured through her laughter. "It's just… I was, too!"

The man took an inopportune moment to sip his drink, as he nearly choked on it in his own laughter.

"No shit?"

"No shit," she confirmed, smiling a broad smile at him.

"What kind of bloke stands up a bird like you, anyway?"

"A complete tosser, of course. How'd you scare yours off?"

"My mate set up a blind date. Though I wouldn't be surprised if he told one of us the wrong day."

"Yeah all right, keep telling yourself that so you'll feel better about being stood up."

He held a hand to his heart in mock-chagrin. "You wound me."

"No moreso than your lovely date. You looked pretty crushed coming over here to get sloshed. Was she that good-looking?"

He shrugged, "No idea. That's why they call it a blind date, yeah? And I am not wounded by my date not showing up."

"Sure," she placated, her eyes returning to her drink as she finished it, with a satisfied slam on the counter.

He cocked an eyebrow at her, "You don't look too thrilled to have been stood up either."

She met his challenging eyebrow with a broader smirk. "Oh yes, I am terribly devastated to not have to sit through dinner with a bloke who would spend half the time talking about his boring financial position and the other half going on about how great his dog is."

"Oy there!" the man scoffed, "I work in finance, and I take offense to that. Though I am more of a cat person myself."

The women laughed, unabashed by her insult. "Sorry, you don't seem terribly boring, if that makes up for it. You appear to be getting wounded by women frequently tonight."

"Apology not accepted," the man said laughing, before finishing his own drink.

"Having another?"

"Don't think you can buy my forgiveness with liquor. Though you could always try to, anyway."

The women found herself stifling another laugh as the bartender came around to them. After she ordered them both whiskey she turned back to him. "So Mister-terribly-sensitive-finance man, what's your name?"

The man grinned, "James. And yours?"

"I'm Lily," she replied, holding her hand out to him. "Pleasure."

"The pleasure is mine…especially if you keep buying me drinks."

Lily laughed, now turned in her seat to face him – he noticed her eyes were an emerald color, unlike any he'd ever seen before. "Keep buying you drinks, am I? And what do I get out of this arrangement?"

James grinned mischievously back at her, "Well now Lily, I'll need dinner before anything like that happens."

She laughed, playfully swatting at his arm. "You don't seem like the type to make a girl pay for dinner."

As her hand lingered on his forearm, his smirk became a smile. "No, you're right about that. D'you fancy moving this to a table for dinner? I'll keep the boring finance talk to a minimum."

She smiled thoughtfully back at him. "Are you hijacking my ruined date, James?"

He held a hand out to help her off the barstool. "'Course. I'm not an idiot like the bloke who stood you up. Are you interested?"

She allowed him to lead her to the small table he had recently vacated and smiled thankfully at him when he pulled a chair out for her. "I suppose. I don't want to think about how beat-up you'd be if you got rejected twice tonight," she told him teasingly.

He cocked an eyebrow at her over his menu before casually telling her, "That'll be a double, then."

Lily lips pursed in confusion, "A double?"

"Yeah, a double whiskey to make up for that comment, I think."

Lily laughed, "You know, you're not the usual type of bloke I date, James."

"Why's that? The blokes you usually date not as handsome as me?"

"Oh no, more handsome, undoubtedly," she deadpanned, studying her own menu to keep her face straight, "They're just typically not as sensitive."

James laughed, "Well you're not the kind of girl I usually go out with, either."

"Why, because I'm real?"

James glared at her mockingly, "No, because you've got wit. Most birds can't keep up with me, you know."

"Oh, wow. So you've gone from dating girls who can't keep up with you, to dating a girl you can't keep up with. Must be a striking change," Lily teased, raising a challenging eyebrow at him.

"Lily," James interrupted, his face set and serious now. Lily's face softened as their eyes locked properly for the first time, the swirling of green and brown in his eyes now clear. "I'd very much like to kiss you right now."

"Err, before appetizers?" she mumbled weakly, suddenly losing her wit under his hard, intense stare.

But any further words evaporated from her mind as James leaned across the table toward her. His eyes stayed locked on hers, until she found her eyes stray down to his lips, which parted ever so slightly in a smirk. Finally when his lips were just centimeters away from hers, her eyes shut of their own accord.

She could feel his words on her lips, "I suppose I can wait until after appetizers." And when she opened her eyes again, he had sat back down in his chair.

Unable to speak, she picked her menu back up and nodded.

"Guess I can keep up with you all right," James said quietly, reading through his own menu, and Lily looked up to see a giant smirk on his face.

"Uh huh," was all she said, before hiding her face behind her menu again, her own smile broad. She couldn't help but think no-one should ever be this pleased to have been stood up.