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Sirius made a noise, biting his lip worriedly as he stared at his reflection.
"Oh my Merlin," Peter groaned, smushing his face into his pillow. "You have got to stop."
"But it's the first dance we're going to together!"
"That's a lie and you know it," Peter said, loudly so as to be heard even though he currently had his mouth against fabric.
"I meant as a couple you twat," Sirius said, throwing his pillow at Peter's head. It hit, but he didn't so much as flinch. "I just went everything to be perfect."
"Your hair's fine!" Peter yelled. "You could show up looking like you just played Quidditch in a storm and Prongs would still think you were the most gorgeous person on the planet."
"Don’t exaggerate."
"I'm not," Peter grumbled. Sirius knew that he wasn't, but that was hardly the point.
He looked down at his robes and felt a wave of despair. "These are a horrible color, I can't go." He jumped when a pillow his his leg, hard considering it was a pillow. He looked over and saw Peter glaring at him.
"You're going."
"But-"
"No. I did not spend the last two hours watching you get ready for nothing, and I'm sure as hell not going to tell James that you're not coming. I'd rather die, thanks." He got off the bed and started rummaging through his trunk. "I'm not sure you deserve this with all the complaining I had to listen to, but here." He shoved a package at Sirius.
Sirius took it dubiously. "What is it?"
"Unwrap it and find out, arsehole. It's not from me, by the way."
"Then who's it from?"
Peter gave him a flat look. "I dunno this is a guess from the top of my head, but maybe your boyfriend who's always buying you shite?"
"Oh," Sirius said cheerily, starting to unwrap it, "well why didn't you say so?"
Peter muttered something disparaging under his breath, which Sirius ignored because he was in a good mood now-- getting gifts from James tended to do that to him. Underneath the brown packing paper was a long, flat jewelry box.
He wiggled in excitement, not really aware of the dog-like movement transferring over. He opened the box, and wanted to wrap James up in a massive hug. It was a gold necklace, inlaid with rubies. It went perfectly with his dress robes, so he took it out and clipped it on, going to the mirror to see how it looked. If Peter called him out on it, he would deny it to his grave, but he blushed a little at the delicate chains clinging to his skin.
"You ready to go?" Sirius said, turning to Peter.
Peter stared at him in disbelief for a moment before shaking his head and getting to his feet.
James was in the common room waiting for him, but the place was packed with Gryffindors dressed up and buzzing around excitedly while they waited to go to the ball. Sirius kind of hated that he couldn’t make some dramatic entrance, sweeping down the stairs in a halo of light. Not that he particularly wanted a spotlight because it would wash him out, but it was the thought. Plus he wanted James to see him immediately, and instead he was getting on his tiptoes to see over the crowd. Which didn’t help him all that much because while he was pretty tall, James was shorter. Not short min, but not tall enough to have his messy hair peeking out over the crowd.
So Sirius wandered around slowly, looking for him. "Hey sweetheart," Sirius said when he finally found him, nuzzling his cheek.
James grinned, leaning back into him for a moment before turning around to see him. "Wow," he breathed, looking Sirius up and down-- and specifically looking at the necklace he'd gotten him, that was sitting snug around Sirius's neck, the base of it just below the hollow of his throat. In a word, he looked divine. And, because Sirius deserved to know every wonderful thing that James thought about him, he said that aloud.
Sirius smiled back, and James was probably the only one that saw the hint of shyness there. "Thanks." It was amazing that one word from James made all his nerves disappear, but then, that was the effect James had on him.
"You look wonderful," he said, reaching a hand up to rest it against Sirius's neck, his thumb tracing the line of his jaw. "I know we've been looking forward to this for months, and that's why I'm not going to drag you back up to the dorm and shag you rotten."
"Well that's what after is for," Sirius replied, an anticipated flush lighting his cheeks.
"It's also what silencing charms are for," Remus mumbled from next to them, but he mumbled it loudly so they would hear him.
James shot a v at him without even glancing his direction.
Sirius bumped their noses together playfully before he leaned in the last few centimeters to kiss him.