Please

Bonding

   "No, of course you're allowed to have a crush. I think most everyone does at one point. But I was sure you were my competition for Lily's heart." Severus can't help but snort at James's words. More like she's competition for him. "What? You can't blame me for thinking that. You did just admit you used to love her." He pokes Severus in the side. "This new person must be pretty amazing to take your eyes from Lily."
"You have no idea," he mumbles. He finds himself wondering how in the hell he went from liking Lily Evans to liking James Potter. They are so very different, he can't even begin to comprehend why he would change his preference so drastically. Maybe he has a different taste, depending on if his crush is male or female? That could explain it, but it is still a rather large contrast between the two.
"It looks like Snape is oblivious. We want to know details. Tell us who it is!" Severus blushes hard and shakes his head quickly.
"N-no! That's embarrassing!" Black rolls his eyes.
"It's natural. It's nothing to be embarrassed about." Severus rolls his eyes, and James jabs Black in the ribs with his elbow.
"Sirius! Don't push him. I want to know too, but I don't want him to stop being my friend." He smiles sweetly at Severus, making his heart skip a beat. He decides this is one of the main reasons he has a crush on him. He may be a prick most of the time, but he's there when it matters the most. He curses James's ability to be able to tell when something is important, but he still loves it.
"Boo. You're a party pooper. I wanted to have some fun tonight, not get ganged up on."
"You're not getting ganged up on, Sirius. If you were, you would be losing a pillow fight right now." The longer haired boy snorts in amusement.
"Oh yeah? We should see if you have your ally correct." Severus pales, and quickly interjects.
"We should do something else. Something that won't hurt my internal bruises, even though they're barely there anymore." Sirius Black huffs, but silently agrees with a single nod. "Thank you." He scoffs and looks away.
"We should play truth or dare." James suggests.
"And let you trick me into telling who my crush is? No." Black laughs softly as Potter blushes ever so slightly.
"Oh. You saw right through that."
"Indeed I did," Severus replies with a nod. James turns his damn puppy dog eyes on him, and he groans loudly. "Okay! Fine! I will tell you one single thing about them." Both boys perk up, leaning closer to him. He closes his eyes so he can pretend he's saying this to Lily and Remus, even though the two of them already know. "They are in Gryffindor. I think my chances with them are little to none because of this."
"Why couldn't you have let slip a he or a she? You're so careful with what you choose to say, I swear!" Sirius bursts out. James grabs his wrist and rolls his eyes.
"That's not what's important here. Calm down. Severus, what makes you think that? You're not a bad guy. I know it probably seems like I don't think that, but I do. All those pranks... They were because I was jealous. I suppose I still am. You're so close with Lily, and I'm not, so it bothers me. I'm sorry I was so immature for all those years. I don't expect you to forgive me, and I wouldn't want you to, but I do hope we can start anew. Like a chapter in a book. You like to read right? Remember what happened, but look forward to what will happen." Black's mouth is agape. Severus can't help but smirk at the dumb look. However, it drops to a more serious tone when he looks at Potter.
"You, James Potter, are too earnest for your own good. I don't think I will ever understand why you want to be my friend so badly, but I accept. Two things though. Who told you I love to read, and who used the chapter analogy on you before?" His hazel eyes light up, and Severus feels his heart go crazy. Why does he have to like this boy? It's cruel and unusual punishment.
"Lily let slip that you like to read when I was telling her about the library at home, and Remus used the chapter thing on me. I was sort of lost, but I'm glad I remembered it now."
"Wait. 'Library at home'? You have an entire library in your house?" Severus jitters with excitement. Maybe breaks won't be as bad as he thought. James looks confused for a split second, then guilty, then bashful. He bows his head and speaks a bit quieter.
"It's not as big as a lot of libraries, but technically we have one. I've read everything I can about Quiditich. I haven't really touched the others though, so I don't know what we have." He pauses to glance up at Severus's surprised face. He laughs harshly. "What? Didn't expect me to have even entered the room? I do like to read about some things you know." He nudges the Slytherin with his entire body, laughing sweetly this time. Black finally relaxes, and puts on a smirk.
"We take our brooms in there sometimes. The higher shelves are such a pain to get to, and it's easier to fly up than use the ladder. That thing takes too long to climb all the way up and all the way down. Plus flying is fun." Severus goes pale.
"That's dangerous! You could knock into a shelf and cause an avalanche! You could fall off and hit the floor, breaking something! And flying is definitely not fun!" They both roll their eyes.
"I think you mean flying is definitely fun, and we're teaching you how to fly on one of my old brooms when we go on break."
"Absolutely not. The ground exists for a reason. We cannot fly without assistance for a reason. The sky wasn't meant to be ours, and I am not intruding on that space."
"But flying is exhilarating!" James pauses, then pokes Severus in the cheek. He huffs softly, but doesn't look up. He continues to get poked, and grunts on maybe the tenth time, looking up to send a glare at the boy.
"What!? Stop poking me! I am not flyi-"
"It makes you feel free. Don't you want to be free?"