The shop was closed for the night, and they should have been exhausted, having opened at dawn, sun now set once again. He felt awake but heady, like the feeling of too many shots of firewhiskey, and her fingers were dancing before his face, teasing with sticky sweetness as she laughed. They were covered in flour, fingertips drenched in melting chocolate icing, some on her nose, her chin, and he raised a hand to try to remove the dollop from her nose, unable to help a grin from spreading across his face, but succeeded only to clumsily apply more to her bottom lip instead. She laughed again, and bit down softly on his finger, playfully, licking her lip and his finger in one soft sandpapery swipe, causing his heart to stutter and skip a beat.
She was lovely even in the wan light of the bakery, strawberry blonde strands messily pulled back, eyes sparkling light and smile coming easy to full lips. They were sitting close, having collapsed against the wall in hiccuping laughter, sliding down together and only managing to smear each other further in what had swiftly gone from making brownies to semi-food fight. Remus had teased that she looked pretty in flour and frosting, but she did. And now her tongue was teasing pale pink strokes and he laughed to keep down the butterflies in his stomach, unashamedly wiping more on her bottom lip while carefully avoiding loose strands of hair.
Their legs were all but tangled, the two somehow landing with her knee hooked over his thigh and turning to face her had only shifted them closer, elbows bumping and hips close. She was possibly more lovely because she was forbidden, because of the empty ache that only seemed to grow, fed by a blissfully happy James and Lily, and Sirius's string of endless conquests, and a couch for a bed that he'd only recently been able to pay for. But they'd been friends before, had little moments, held hands, shared secrets. And she liked him and he selfishly wanted her, damn the consequences, and had barely fended off wallowing in self-pity while she dated Gideon, even though he'd been the one to turn her affection away.
Now fate had brought them together, if one believed in such things, and he knew even this was selfish, asking for a job, working long hours with her when she should have been closing up early and going out to meet nice, normal boys. He knew he was sending signals, despite how he tried not to, which was probably worse, probably confusing, and he wondered if she knew how he felt, how torn he was. It hurt, being so close; it ached, but it was so good, and he bumped his nose against hers, heart flipping again when she didn't pull back.
