Harry Potter Imagines

Sirius Black 》Would You Be So Kind?

Summary: Sirius likes you, but that's not enough. (Based on Would You Be So Kind? by dodie.)

Warnings: None

Words: 1.2k

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I have a question; it might seem strange.

Sirius Black found himself watching you, head covered in snow, bell-like laugh chiming through the air, jumper so large it fell half-way down your thighs. He watched as you dipped down to gather snow into your hands, pack it into a ball, and launch it at Lily, hitting her on the side of her hood-covered cheek. As she began preparing her retaliation, you started running, not watching where you were going, and bumped straight into the already-dazed boy, knocking the both of you to the ground.

How are your lungs? Are they in pain?

"Oop!" you shouted as you fell. His collision with the ground didn't hurt; the snow was high and fluffy, allowing him a soft landing. He did, however, get the wind knocked out of him as you landed on him, but whether that was truly from the force, we'll never know. The expression on your face when you pushed yourself up enough to look at him didn't help him catch his breath in the slightest. Your eyes, changing from worried to relieved to happy, were enough to distract him from the cold on his neck and to allow him not to notice that he'd wrapped his arms around you. He wondered, briefly, if your breaths were coming any easier than his.

'Cause mine are aching, think I know why.

This was unlike him, he knew. Never before had he watched from the sidelines, waiting and hoping rather than chasing, never before had he not been satisfied with not getting what he wanted, and never before had he wanted something like this quite so much. He could hear his friends telling him to move on, reminding him that there were plenty of other, more attainable, fish in the sea. He understood now how James felt when he looked at Lily: desperate, pathetic, and entirely smitten.

I kinda like it, though. You wanna try?

You began to giggle again, nose scrunching up as you did so. Sirius' heart raced at the sight of it, but it soon felt a pang as you pushed yourself up, forcing his hands to fall back down by his sides. This moment, like many others before it, ended far too quickly for his liking. Even with the knowledge that you didn't feel what he did, he always wanted to be next to you, to live in those brief moments where he could pretend you did and that you were his. These were times where everything else stood still, where there was nothing else, no pain or worry, to think about. Even if you didn't love him back, this was enough.

Oh, would you be so kind as to fall in love with me? You see, I'm trying.

"My apologies, Sirius," you said, offering him your hand to help him up. Even through the mitten, even after being in the snow, it felt warm. You always ran hot, giving him one more reason to desire your closeness. You didn't move away from him once he was standing, choosing instead to look up at him with a wide, bright smile. You didn't drop his hand, either, suddenly seeming to be as lost in this moment as he had just been, though he, now, was much more aware of it all. He knew that you were holding his hand, that your cheeks were becoming a beautiful shade of pink, and that your eyes were glued to his. He also knew that your friends were watching, too.

I know you know that I like you, but that's not enough.

It was an open secret. James, Remus, Peter, Lily, Mary, Alice — they all knew how Sirius felt about you, and he knew that you knew, too. You never said anything and neither did he. There was no point in it, anyway; you were always someone else's girl, always wrapped up in someone else's sweaters, always dancing in someone else's arms. It was his fault in the end; if he'd realized how he'd felt sooner, if it hadn't taken seeing you with someone else to make him see how bloody perfect you were for him, maybe you'd be his instead. But you weren't. He would do well to remember that.

So if you will, please fall in love. I think it's only fair.

A snowball hit the back of your head, sending flakes flying all around you and shaking you out of your trance. Sirius' heart fell despite himself. Suddenly you'd forgotten all about him and were once again paying more attention to your other friends — once again focused on someone else. It wasn't fair for him to be jealous of the others. It wasn't Lily or James or Peter that had your heart the way he wanted it. You cared about him just as much as you did them. He just wanted more time with you than he was currently getting, that was all.

There's gotta be some butterflies somewhere, wanna share?

He tried to distract himself with joining in on the game, or, if he couldn't distract himself, try not to seem so out of it to everyone else. Even if they knew what he was feeling, he wanted them to be able to forget, or at least pretend to. He did get out of his head a bit; pelting James with snowballs until he had to concede was always fun. He even found himself laughing alongside everyone else, though it did take avoiding looking at you to do so. It wasn't like this every day, but there was something about the way you looked right then that sent him reeling.

'Cause I like you, but that's not enough.

Lily paused suddenly, staring past him, and you and the other girls joined her. It took a second for the Mauraders to notice, but once they did, they found themselves turning towards a couple not far off. Sirius was confused at first, wondering what was so special about them that the whole fight had to pause, but then the boy's head turned enough that he recognized him: your boyfriend. He had his hand clasped around the girl's, and they looked quite happy. Right there, out in the open... The group's attention was pulled away from the pair when they heard the sound of a snowball hitting Remus' chest. When they looked around, you were bent down, rolling another one.

So if you will, please fall in love with me.

"Y/N?" James asked tentatively.

You snorted. "It's nothing to worry about. We had an amicable breakup a few days ago." You didn't seem to upset about any of it, Sirius noticed.

"Why's that?" asked Peter.

You straightened yourself and shrugged. "We decided we weren't right for each other. We liked other people, actually."

"Both of you?"

A small smile appeared on your lips, and you glanced at Sirius, just for a second, but enough to make his heart skip a beat... "Yeah, both of us."

...because maybe.