The fifteenth time I shared a bed with Sirius Black we were both drunk. We'd located some firewhiskey and had thrown a party to celebrate my birthday. Afterwards we'd stumbled up the stairs together to find Moony's hangings drawn, Wormtail passed out on the floor, Alice, Frank Longbottom's girlfriend, and her friend Marlene Mckinnon soundly sleeping in Wormtail's bed and none other than Lily Evans passed out across mine. I blinked at her sleeping form.

'She'll kick your arse Prongs,' Sirius snorted next to me, obviously thinking the same thing as me. I sighed.

'But she's in my bed.' I pointed out stupidly, as if this somehow made it justifiable to crawl into bed with an unconscious girl who hated you. Sirius shook his head, grinning.

'Doesn't matter. She'll still kick your arse.' I sighed again, nodding and regretting it as the world began spinning and I stumbled. Sirius grabbed me and giggled.

'You're drunk.'

'Like you're sober?' I slurred at him, well aware of how idiotic I sounded. He grinned at me.

'Then we should go sleep it off, come on, plenty room.' He grinned at me before collapsing on his bed, fully clothed. I kicked off the one show that was still on my foot and crawled in beside him, slipping and cracking my head on his shoulder as I did so. We lay in silence for a moment.

'Hey, Padfoot,' I said into the darkness.

'What?'

'You know Lily,'

'Course I know Lily. Red hair, nice arse, you've been lusting after her for five years,' I tried to hit him but missed rather spectacularly, hitting the headboard and cursing while he laughed.

'But Lily,' he reminded me after a minute.

'What if she likes me,'

'I don't think you have to worry about that Prongs,'

'No, I mean, if she suddenly liked me.'

'Yeah, if, by some miracle, she falls madly and passionately in love with you...'

'Yeah...what do I do?'

'After fainting from shock?'

'After that,'

'Well, take her in your arms and kiss her madly and passionately like the heroine of some old fairy tale and then you ride off into the sunset like Romeo and Juliet or...wait...' I was too preoccupied to notice his confused look.

'But what if I'm crap at it.'

'At what?'

'Kissing'

'You won't be'

'But she'd chuck me if I was crap, wouldn't she.'

'Probably.'

'Padfoot...this is a serious problem, you've got to help me don't fall asleep.' I elbowed him in the back as I said it. I heard him sigh, felt him roll over, and next thing I knew his lips were on mine. After a shocked moment I responded. A moment later we broke apart.

'See, I told you, nothing to worry about, perfectly adequate. I wouldn't chuck you.'

'Thanks'

Some time passed.

'Padfoot?'

'Yeah'

'You taste like a brewery,'

'Better get used to it. Only way Evans is ever gonna get with you is if she's totally plastered.'

Some more time passed.

'Padfoot?'

'What?'

'Thanks for that'

He said nothing but I could feel him shuffle slightly closer to me. Emboldened by the alcohol and feeling my arm begin to numb I shifted and slipped it around him. We slept soundly until we were awaken the next morning by Moony's remonstrations on the dangers of alcohol and headaches the size of small elephants.