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He noticed her the moment she walked in, auburn hair alight like copper in the sunlit halo of the door, eyes so green they spoke of emeralds and forests and magic, a nervous smile gracing her plush pink lips. The cup he was holding slipped out of his hand at the sight of her, and he fumbled gracelessly for it before the bemused look of the man at the counter. “Sorry, sorry,” he muttered, tearing his eyes away from her.
James Potter knew every customer in his coffee shop, for it was a very small, quiet town, and a small, quiet shop. Yet, he had never seen this woman before, for he would’ve remembered if he had. She queued behind the somewhat disgruntled old man at the counter, and James forced himself to focus on pouring coffee, feeling lucky that Tom was a man of simple tastes, so he wouldn’t be floundering around trying to make some fancy drink while the lady watched. He handed the steaming mug to Tom with a genteel nod of his head, and prepared his most winning smile, running his hand unthinkingly through his wild mane of jet black hair.
“How can I help you today, miss?” he asked buoyantly, doing his best to stop tracing the curves of her cheekbones and jaw with his reverent gaze. She smiled politely back at him, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, and oh, even her ears were perfect, James marvelled, taking in the shapes and size from tip to earlobe. He knew he was being ridiculous, but even when she spoke, her voice flooded into his chest like hot water, and he could feel his heartbeat in his throat.
“Hi, I’d just like a green tea, please,” she said, and her smile turned shy. “I’m meeting someone here, so if I could have it in a mug…?”
James tried not to let the sudden disappointment show on his expression, though in truth he felt like the floor had fallen out from him. Sure, she hadn’t mentioned she was meeting a boyfriend, but he could tell from the way she shifted her weight from foot to foot and unconsciously combed through her auburn waves with her fingers that this wasn’t just meeting a girlfriend. Unless she was gay, in which case she was probably meeting a girlfriend.
Her brows slowly began to knit together, and with horror, James realised he’d just been staring silently at her. Mentally cursing himself for looking like an idiot, he shook his head and tried an apologetic smile. “Sorry, been a long day.” He rang her up for the tea, then grabbed a mug, placed a full-leaf tea bag in it, and filled it with hot water. Gently he placed it on a saucer with a teaspoon and handed it to her over the counter. “Enjoy,” he offered, and found he really meant it. Now that the surge of jealousy had abated, James just wanted to see this beautiful stranger smiling.
Unfortunately, it seemed his wish wasn’t to come true. Once the girl had taken a seat by the window, the minutes ticked by with no boyfriend (or girlfriend,) and the shining hope on her face diminished steadily into disappointment. She began glancing between the watch on her wrist and her mobile every few minutes, and each time she locked her phone, James died a little inside, seeing disappointment turn into sadness.
Wiping down the counter with a rag, James glanced at his own watch, noticing with a start that it had been nearly two hours since she’d first come in. Grimacing to himself, a hot rage boiled up within him that someone would leave her waiting like that. Furiously throwing two tesa together, burning himself on the hot water and biting down a swear, he stormed out from behind the counter and to the woman’s table, placing the two mugs down in front of her. Her eyes widened in surprise, and he noticed an edge of tension forming in the set of her shoulders before realising how he must look, suffused with righteous anger, and he took a breath, smiling gently before sitting down.
“James Potter,” he said, offering his hand for her to shake, which she took, looking rather wrong-footed.
“Lily Evans,” she replied, curiosity bright in her tone, and again he was awash in the music of her voice.
“I thought you might be interested in sharing a cup of tea with me. It’s a new jasmine white. On the house, of course.” Anxiety rolled through his stomach as her eyes narrowed, resentment encroaching onto her expression while her gaze swept his features, searching for pity. Surprisingly enough, she found none, only his thinly veiled indignation for her plight amidst the awe he could not hide, and she dropped her gaze to the steaming tea before her, inhaling the subtle fragrance. For the first time, she aimed the full brilliance of her smile at James, and he was nearly stupefied.
“Why, thank you, Mr. Potter.” There was only the smallest hint of gratitude in her voice, for it was mainly permeated with joy.
“My pleasure, Ms. Evans.” He watched her carefully sip the tea, his heart warming as he saw the delight blossom in her eyes. “May I be bold enough to ask as to whom you were meeting today?”
She laughed, euphonious cascades of mirth. “Do you really talk like a fairy tale prince, or are you just putting me on?” And he grinned even as he felt his cheeks warm.
“I figured it was only appropriate, since you must be a fairy tale princess… the new Disney kind, though. Like Merida.” He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in the chair, affecting a casual air even has his heart raced at the sidelong glance she gave him.
“You’re just saying that because of the red hair. You watch Disney movies?” Her tone was dubious, and he was suddenly immensely grateful to Remus and Peter forcing him and Sirius to sit and marathon all the Disney animated films (minus sequels, because we all know those don’t really count.)
“Who doesn’t?” he scoffed, then immediately prayed that Lily actually watched Disney movies and didn’t just know about them second-hand. She didn’t look entirely convinced, but a smile danced on the corner of her glossy lips. Feeling somewhat breathless, James took a sip of his tea, letting it bleed a little of his tension away. He was normally so confident around women, probably because whether they really liked him or not wasn’t a primary concern. This was different. She was different, and despite it being the first time he’d ever seen her, James knew it meant something, because he’d never felt like this for anyone before.
Lily considered him for a long moment, then sighed. “I was meeting a co-worker. He's new, and we got on really well at work, and he invited me out to coffee. Hasn't called, hasn't texted.” She shrugged, but he could see the sadness around her eyes and the anger in her hands, and he had to consciously keep himself from from reaching out to hold them.
“Well, look on the bright side. You got to have tea with a much handsomer bloke.” He brushed a thick piece of dark hair from his forehead and gave her his most smouldering look from over his glasses, a mischievous smile curling his lips. A silence stretched between them as Lily stared at him, puzzled. Then, to his dismay, she burst into helpless laughter, forced to set her tea down lest she spill it, going so far as to put her forehead on the table, tears springing to the corner of her eyes. James began to grow concerned and moderately irritated as the sound of her laughter dissipated into wheezing before she finally looked back up at him.
“I was going to ask you where he is, then I realised you were talking about yourself,” she teased, green eyes sparkling, a florid glow high on her cheeks. James scowled, but beyond that, he couldn’t bring himself to be truly offended, not faced with her merry grin and pink face. “Thank you, Mr. Potter, for turning my afternoon around,” she added earnestly, briefly touching his fingers before drawing her hand back to her mug.
“You’re welcome here any time, Ms. Evans,” he replied, his expression easing back into a gentle warmth.
“It’s a little far from my house, but you might start seeing me in here during my lunch break.” She stood up and shrugged some stiffness from her shoulders. “Thanks again. If you see a man with long black hair and a pawprint tattoo on his wrist, kindly spit in his drink for me.”
“Will do.” The words were past his lips before he could process the reality of what she’d said, and his mouth fell open as she left the shop. “Sirius fucking Black,” he said incredulously, and leapt to his feet, stumbling to the back to grab his mobile.