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It’s nine in the morning when Lily accosts Peter. “You have a date tonight,” she declares with authority she does not have.
He blinks at her twice before replying, “No I do not.”
Blanching, Lily insists, “Yes you do.”
She’s been trying to set him up for months. The first date was with a friend of Regulus’ who, after asking post-date, insists it was a doomed match. Barty looked like he’d rather take a bite out of Peter than date him. “I don’t know why you let her talk you into that,” Regulus had said with a disgusted look on his face. “I don’t know why we’re friends,” Peter responded and felt better than he had in days. The second date was with one of Barty’s friends. He didn’t know it at the time, but it makes perfect sense in retrospect. Xenophilius was more bizarre than he was scary; they were a terrible match nonetheless. The third date was with someone Sirius recommended. Peter is certain Sirius must secretly hate him. Frank wasn’t bad, per se, but he was about as interesting as a grain of rice.
Now, three dates down, Peter is starting to wonder if Lily hates him. If so, she’s not being very secret about it.
He groans as she plants her hands on her hips. “Lils, I don’t want to go.”
“Why?” she demands.
Peter looks at her in disbelief. “I’ve had nothing but trouble with this. It’s beyond frustrating. Do you hate me?”
Lily’s mouth drops open before her face contorts into guilt. “Oh, Peter,” she cries. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realise—I’ve been horrible, haven’t I?”
Instantly overcome with guilt of his own, Peter rushes to comfort her. He reaches out and pulls her in for a hug. “Of course not. No, I’m sorry. I was—that was mean. I’m just… irritated and hurt, maybe. I don’t know why I’m so hard to love.”
She squeezes him tightly before pulling back to look him in the eyes. “You are not hard to love. Let me try this last time. If it’s awful, I promise to never bring it up again.”
Peter hesitates for a moment before he sighs. Her eyes are huge and he’s never been able to say no to her. He’s not going to start now. “Okay,” he agrees. “Okay, I’ll go.”
Ɠꩁꝕ
Sitting alone at the bar with the abandoned dregs of his beer, Peter decides he’s never trusting Lily again. Despite how much he loves her, he simply cannot forgive this. He’s been stood up. Stood up. It’s absurd. He’s texted the number Lily gave him multiple times with no response. In fact, he’s almost certain the man on the other side blocked him. His texts aren’t even going through.
Just as he’s about to get up, someone asks, “Alone too?”
Peter looks over at the most gorgeous man he’s ever laid eyes on. His blond hair is perfectly styled, his suit is immaculate and expensive-looking, and his eyes are piercing. Peter thinks he might keel over and die. “Oh, er–” Christ, he’ll never entertain me now, “yes, actually.”
The man grimaces sympathetically. “I have been stood up by my date,” he reveals. “I’ve never had this happen before.”
“Me too,” Peter confesses, hoping to make him feel better. “This is the fourth date my friend has set up for me. The others were shit but at least they showed up.”
The man’s expression softens into a genuine smile. “I’m Gilderoy,” he introduces and offers his hand.
Peter takes it. “Peter.”
“Peter,” Gilderoy repeats before letting go. “What do you do, Peter?”
“I’m a florist, actually.”
“Actually?”
“Oh, well… Most people tend to be surprised by that,” he finishes lamely.
Gilderoy scrutinizes him. “You seem like a florist to me,” he decides.
Peter feels warm under this man’s attention. He’s never had someone this attractive show interest in him. “Thank you,” he replies thoughtlessly. Embarrassed, Peter quickly asks, “What do you do?”
“I work as an accountant at a law firm, actually.” His lips twitch as he speaks.
Amused, Peter replies, “You don’t seem like an accountant.”
“No?” Gilderoy teases back.
He shrugs. “You seem like you ought to be in fashion.” The moment the words leave his mouth, Peter feels himself go bright red. Oh great, now I’ve done it.
But Gilderoy looks inordinately pleased. He preens under Peter’s accidental compliment. “Do you really think so?” he fishes for more, but Peter doesn’t mind.
“Yeah,” he answers earnestly. “You seem like you have great taste.”
Gilderoy’s smile only grows as Peter continues to talk. “I’ve always wanted to get into the industry. When I was young, I used to sew my own clothes.” His expression drops slightly. “I haven’t done so in a long time.”
“You should,” Peter tries to sound encouraging. “I spent my early twenties thinking I wanted to work a corporate job. I went to university for business and even got hired right out of school. But I could never quite make it fit.”
“Do you like being a florist?” Gilderoy asks curiously.
“I do.”
“How did you realise it’s what you wanted to do?” he probes.
Peter smiles a little wistfully. “In uni, my best mate chased after his boyfriend for ages. Every few days, he would come to me and beg for my help in making a bouquet to wow him with. I had a lot of fun doing it. I would research the meanings of the flowers and look up inspiration photos. I could spend hours doing it and it was the happiest I had ever been. Eventually, that same friend told me the job I had was draining the life out of me. He said I ought to open up my own flower shop. Initially I thought he was just being nice, but the idea stuck with me.”
Gilderoy’s attention doesn’t wane as Peter rambles on. He looks fascinated, his expression changing with every progression in the tale. When Peter’s finished, he says, “That’s beautiful. It sounds like you have lovely friends.”
“I do,” Peter agrees. “We’ve known each other for ages, even the friend that set me up. We all went to secondary school together.”
“Did you?” Gilderoy wonders, delighted. “I’ve not kept in touch with the people I went to school with. They all live in London.”
“Oh.” Peter feels a bit sad for the other man. He can’t imagine living so far away from everyone he knows. “Well, you should meet my mates then. We’re practically a small army at this point, but we’ve got room for one more.”
Gilderoy shrinks back a little before glancing away awkwardly. “Oh, no that’s… I’m not very good with people,” he claims.
Peter doesn’t buy it for a second. “You came up to me and struck up a conversation just fine. I bet you can handle my friends.”
Gilderoy’s brows draw together. “I did that because I think you’re fit. I doubt I’ll want to flirt with all of your friends.”
“You’re hitting on me?” Peter gasps and nearly knocks over his drink.
Gilderoy rights the glass before squinting at him. “Of course I am. What do you think I’m doing?”
“Oh…” he trails off and feels flushed. “Oh I… I’m not sure.”
“Are you saying you’ve not been flirting back?” He suddenly looks horrified. “My goodness, I’m sorry that I’ve read–”
“No!” Peter cuts him off hurriedly. “No, no. I am. I mean, I just didn’t think you would be interested.”
He eyes Peter curiously. “Why not?”
“Well–” he stops himself and looks down at his lap. “I’ve never really had anyone respond enthusiastically when I try to chat them up.”
Gilderoy’s face pinches. “That won’t do,” he declares nonsensically. “I want to take you out.”
“Sorry?” Peter splutters and feels like he’s missed a few things.
“I want to take you out on a date,” he repeats. “We can go somewhere more private than this and properly get to know each other.” Gilderoy squares his shoulders. “I would like to see you again.”
“Oh…” Peter feels dizzy. “Yes, of course.”
The next thing he knows, Gilderoy is putting his number in Peter’s phone and promising to call him tomorrow. In a matter of several minutes, he goes from being stood up and ashamed to getting picked up by a gorgeous man. This can’t be real.
Ɠꩁꝕ
“How did it go?” Lily asks a few days later when she arrives at his shop.
Peter glares at her. “Shit,” he answers promptly.
Her whole body droops. “Gosh, really?”
“Yes!” he exclaims. “He didn’t even bother to show.”
“What!?” Lily shouts and looks around wildly. “That can’t be right! He told me right before he left for the bar.”
“Well.” Peter scoffs. “He never made it.”
She looks devastated. “I am so sorry, Peter,” she apologises earnestly. “I really thought he’d be the one.”
“It’s alright,” he promises gently. “I actually met a really great guy that night.”
She perks up. “Oh yeah?”
Peter can’t help the smile that tugs at his lips. He saw Gilderoy last night for their second date in as many days. The man is captivating, electric, magnetic. Peter feels helpless, like he’s a planet orbiting the sun. Impossibly, Gilderoy seems just as taken with him. “Yeah,” he confesses quietly. “We’ve gone out twice. I really like him.”
“What’s he like?” Lily asks immediately. “Wait, is he handsome?”
“The most handsome man I’ve ever seen, I swear it on my life,” Peter replies with a grin.
She does a little screech and smacks his arm. “Oh! What’s his name? When will you see him again?”
“I’m seeing him again tomorrow. He’s coming here for lunch.” Peter bites his lip as he thinks about Gilderoy seeing his shop for the first time. “His name is Gilderoy. He’s an accountant but he doesn’t really want to be. I think–”
“Wait, I thought you said Gilderoy stood you up?” Lily interrupts with drawn eyebrows.
Bewildered, Peter asks, “What?”
“Gilderoy? You said that he stood you up at the bar.”
“Wait…” he trails off and looks up at the ceiling. “Oh my god,” he groans. “I’m so stupid.”
“What?” she prompts.
“He came up to me with the same story of being stood up.” Peter buries his face in his hands in embarrassment. “Oh, I’m so bloody stupid.”
“I gave you his phone number!” she exclaims.
“I know! I must have typed it in wrong. The messages never sent.” He pulls out his phone to compare and sure enough, one digit is off. Peter groans again. “I can’t believe this.”
Lily is smirking when Peter peeks at her. She’s so smug as she says, “I can. I told you you’d love him.”
He sighs. He hates to admit it, but, “God, you were right.”
“He’s so hot, isn’t he?” she wheedles and elbows him.
He shoves her away as she laughs loudly. “Oh fuck you,” Peter whinges.
When she finally stops cackling, Lily smiles at him happily. “I’m really glad you two got on. I think you’re a great match.”
Peter rolls his eyes. “Yeah, the fourth time is the charm, I guess.”
Lily snorts. “You’re welcome, ungrateful git.”
He nibbles on his lip for a moment before saying, “Thank you. He really… I like him.”
Lily reaches out and grabs his hands. “You deserve love, Peter, and Gilderoy is the perfect person to give that to you.”
Secretly, he agrees. Aloud, he says, “We’ll see.”