Ten Minutes In June

Sirius lay on his back as he held up one of the empty wine bottles. Leaf-filtered sunlight made the frosted green glass ripple with light and shadows and it seemed, to his pleasantly hazy mind, to glow with some yet-to-be-realized premonition. It reminded him of--he squinted up at the bottle until it came to him--magic. And Lily's eyes.

Prickly Lily, he mused cheerfully. Tiger Lily. Lily of the Valley. Lilypad--

A shadow fell over Sirius and the bottle was just a bottle once more. He let it slip from his fingers to land with a hollow thud on the picnic blanket. It was only then that he noticed the absence of the quiet hum of conversation, which prompted him to ask--

"Where have our better halves gotten off to?"

James settled himself on the blanket next to his almost drunk friend, resting back on his elbows as he let the warm June breeze tease his hair into further disarray. "Well, Lil's run back to the house to powder her nose--"

"Y'know, I've never understood that phrase."

"--and Remus decided we needed more wine."

"Brilliant man, my Moony. Always said so." This was declared with an approving joggle of head.

James snorted. "We need more wine. You've already finished off the better part of three bottles all by yourself."

"But I'm celebrating!" Sirius wasn't aware of how close he came to nearly knocking his best friend's glasses off with his wide-flung arms. Neither was James. He was busy staring off into space, his expression hovering on the edge of a thoughtful frown.

"How long has it been?"

Sirius closed his eyes as he did a quick mental tally. Or as quick as it could be considering his slightly sloshed condition. "Three years, in...four days."

That earned a low whistle. One grey eye peeked open as Sirius turned his head to fix James with a cocky--and, much to Potter's amusement, cockeyed--grin. "Got you beat by more than a year, Prongs."

James made a non-committal sound. Then--"You're happy, right? With Remus?"

Sirius's eye drifted closed again on a contented sigh. "More than I thought was humanly possible. Which makes sense considering..." There was a beat of silence before both eyes opened to fix on James. "Why do you ask? You're not getting cold feet already, are you?" His tone was only half-teasing.

"No, it's not that." A pause. "At least, I don't think so. I mean, I know I want to marry Lily, but it's like..." He made a sound of frustration. "How do you know it's forever?"

"Oh, that's easy." Sirius hooked an arm beneath his head and gazed idly up at the sunlight dancing down between the branches of the old oak tree. He got so distracted by flickering spots of light that he forgot to finish his thought until James prompted, "Well?"

"Hmm? Oh. Well, for Remus and me--for me, at least--I know he's my forever because...because his eyes can stop me in my tracks and make me forget what I was doing. The very thought of him makes my whole being just glow. Like he lights me up from the inside, y'know? And when I kiss him it's...different. Different from any kiss I've ever had or will ever have. I know it in every fiber of my being."

"...You're a bloody awful poet, Padfoot."

"And you're an ungrateful fu--mmph!"

Sirius's eyes flew open when James's mouth came down on his own. Familiar hazel eyes were open behind wire-rimmed glassed and he met that gaze for a long moment before closing his eyes again and letting James kiss him.

It reminded him, Sirius thought as his lips opened to allow the warm intrusion of tongue, of fifth year. Back when this--the kisses, and later, the touching--was a constant. Before there was SirusandRemus and JamesandLily, and there was only SirusandJames. He'd always remember how they'd been then. But this, now, was--

"Different," James said quietly after breaking the kiss. Sirius ventured a look at him. And felt relieved. Never had he seen his best friend look so calm, so...settled. James Potter was definitely marrying Lily Evans come--

"Have you set a date, yet?"

James grimaced. "Yeah."

"And?"

"Only four sodding months."

"When, dammit?"

"Halloween."

James was still grumbling and Sirius was still laughing by the time Remus and Lily returned.