#wyldstyle

“Then you saw what we went through, what he went through, to bring you back,” she guessed.

“Even before the whole Lord Business fiasco, he never would have taken the time to make sure I was okay, like he did Halloween night. That was… something new.” He pulled into the parking lot and parked the car. “Don’t say anything to him about it, please. It’s enough that he considers me his best friend, I really don’t want things to get awkward between us. And I’ll get over it again, in time.”

Lucy chewed her lip thoughtfully, then leaned over to hug him. “Cary said you always seemed to have rotten luck with that… For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

He hugged her back. “Thanks, but I’ll be okay. This is hardly the first time I’ve gone through this.”

“It’s still not fair to you,” she argued.

“It’s not,” he agreed, “but not everything in life is fair. Sometimes we just have to settle for what we get.”

“Sometimes,” Lucy murmured, staring down at her hands. “…But then, sometimes, what seems unfair at first actually turns out for the better.”

Alastar smiled at her determined look. “Sometimes. We’ll see.” He leaned over to press a kiss to her forehead. “Now shoo, I’ve got to get back before Cary snaps.”

“You guys are still having separation issues?”

Alastar laughed at that. “’Still’? Lucy, it’s only been two months.”

“…Feels like it’s been longer than that.”

“That it does,” he sighed. “Well, we are doing better, but we still have our limits. You can’t really move past thirty-seven years of coexistence in just a few weeks.”

“…Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, that was a dumb question, wasn’t it?”

He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Maybe, but that you asked it at all shows that you care.” She smiled back at him before popping open the door.

“See you at Larry’s?”

“If not sooner.” He waved goodbye as she climbed out and made her way over to where her motorcycle was parked. He drove back to the station, unsurprised to find his brother waiting at the door for him.

“Idiot,” Cary sighed at him, pulling him close. “I thought you’d learned your lesson after last time.”

“I thought I did too,” Alastar said miserably, and leaned into the embrace. “Guess I was wrong.”

After finally managing to shoo the pair away (honestly, Alastar could be overbearing with his fussing, when he was worried), Sirius made a beeline straight for the bathroom again. He had briefly (very briefly) debated heading down to his office to try to get at least some work done, after wasting most of the day getting patched up and dragged around town, but decided against it. There was no way he would be able to focus right now, not when he was still trying to wrap his head around his new reflection.

Lucy had really outdone herself. Sirius couldn’t remember the last time he’d been unable to tear his gaze away from the mirror. Probably never. Arthur had taught him the importance of appearance, and Sirius had always taken every opportunity to make sure his was absolutely perfect, but he had never once given thought to what his own personal style might look like. After all, everyone wore two-piece suits when they wanted to look Important and Professional, right?

But Lucy had somehow managed to absolutely nail it when he himself had no idea what he might actually like that would look good on him. He supposed it came from her years of experimenting with her own identity. Of course she would get it. He was just grateful she hadn’t made any ‘mid-life crisis’ jokes about it; didn’t people normally go through this in their teens? Ah well, better late than never, he supposed. Although he would probably let the unibrow grow back out- that was one thing about himself he had never once considered a ‘flaw’, though it seemed many others did. He rubbed the bare patch between his now separate eyebrows with a petulant frown.

The glasses were a nice touch though, the cherry on the sundae. He had always thought having to wear his reading glasses just made him look old, but- Alastar always wore his, and Sirius had never once thought they detracted from his appearance. They suited him as much as they softened him. And then there was that comment Benny had made, during the expedition… It was the first time anyone had ever told him that. And judging from the look Alastar had given him, Benny wasn’t the only one who appreciated them.

The thought made him feel strangely warm.

With a sigh he popped open the medicine cabinet and swallowed down some painkillers. With the glass removed and the cuts cleaned and stitched closed, the sharp, searing pain had turned into more of a dull throb, but his hand was really starting to hurt again. Even despite that, though, he was feeling unusually relaxed.

“I’m not sure I like that look.”

“Relax, it’ll be fine! Let’s hit downtown.”

The ride to the shops was spent in silence, with Sirius lost in thought wondering what sort of ideas Lucy had. Given her own personal style, he feared it might wind up being something outrageous. Though he had to admit, her “wild style” certainly suited her. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Maybe I shouldn’t underestimate her, he thought as she had Bobby stop at the higher end stores. She all but dragged him into the closest one, a very amused Alastar following them at a more sedate pace. It was the same tailor he had bought his suits from. “Ah, President Business! Welcome! Finding yourself in need of another suit? Or perhaps treating your friends here?” The tailor raised an eyebrow at said friends, and Sirius almost laughed. They did stick out like a pair of sore thumbs, with Lucy’s favorite track suit and Alastar’s uniform.

“Oh no, we’re here for him,” Lucy answered. “He is in need of some new suits, but not his usual.” She glanced around at the mannequins, and grinned as she apparently found something she liked. “Something more like this, actually.” Sirius turned to see what she was pointing out, and paused. Instead of a two-piece suit, she had picked out a vest.

“Oh,” he said, and she smirked at his approving tone.

“Told you.” She turned back to the tailor. “We’ll take two of these in light gray, and make one of the vests pinstriped.” As the pair bickered over details (what material do you want it in? What style of lapels would you like, if any? Single breasted or double? How do you want the pockets finished?), Alastar wandered around to have his own look. The price tags were well outside anything he felt comfortable with spending, but the suits certainly looked well worth the cost.

Apparently having gotten the details sorted out, Lucy walked up to his side as Sirius was taken to the back to have his measurements taken. “Thinking about getting a suit for yourself?” she teased. Alastar looked at her over the rims of his glasses, and held up one of the tags. She winced. “Yeah, glad I’m not the one footing this bill. Ugh. You’d look pretty sharp in one though, I bet.”

“Maybe, if I ever have reason to wear one. My dress uniform actually works pretty well for most formal occasions.” She laughed at him. “Any estimate on how long it’ll take for his new suits to be done?”

“About four weeks, and that’s with a rush put on it. So whenever he’s done, we’re going to see if we can’t find something on the racks that’ll fit him well enough in the meantime. I mean, this is all really good quality stuff as it is.” She turned when Alastar’s focus shifted. “That didn’t take long.”

“Nah,” Sirius agreed. “So what’s next on the agenda?”

“Finding something on the racks that’ll fit you. And some shirts to go with it. In something other than white, I’m sure you have plenty of those,” she teased. Alastar laughed as Sirius stuck his tongue out at her. Lucy grinned. “Real mature. Anyway, I’m thinking cool colors would look better on you. Come on.” She dragged him around until they found a vest and pants similar enough to what was getting made for him, and enlisted his help in finding the right size. They browsed around for a while, comparing colors and patterns (Sirius had protested loudly when Lucy picked out something wildly floral patterned and held it up to him like she was seriously considering it before her resolve cracked and she doubled over laughing. It prompted a brief but ridiculous game of ‘find the most outrageous thing in the store for Sirius to try on’) before finally grabbing three shirts and three ties- one each in green, blue, and purple- and leaving the shop.

“Not going to let me try them on first?” Sirius complained.

“I don’t want to ruin the big reveal- I want it to be as much a surprise to you as it will everyone else.”

“Oh, fine,” he sighed. “So now what?”

“Burgers, and then back to your place.”

“Burgers??”

“I have a mighty need for greasy fast food right now.” Sirius made a face. “Hey, don’t even. I’ve seen how you put away pizza.” Alastar laughed as the two of them bickered.

“Ohh, alright, we’ll get burgers.”

“And fries.”

“You’re going to be the death of me.”

They stopped by Lucy’s favorite fast food restaurant to pick up some burgers and fries (and a chocolate frosty for her to dip said fries in, much to Sirius’ disgust) before returning to the Tower. Lucy grabbed her bag from where she had tucked it under the seat, and they made their way up to Sirius’ penthouse to eat lunch. The mirror had been expertly replaced, and the only evidence left that it had shattered was Sirius’ hand.

“Why don’t you take your stuff back to the bathroom?” Lucy asked once they had finished eating. “Go ahead and put them on, if you want, but don’t peek!”

“If you say so,” Sirius said, taking his new clothes back to his bedroom. Lucy gave Alastar an expectant look.

“Yes?”

“Benny mentioned once that he wears reading glasses. Do you know where he keeps them?”

Alastar tilted his head as he considered her question. “Either on the desk in his office, or the coffee table.” He nodded toward the living room. “Why?”

“Cause Benny also mentioned he looks really good with them on.” Lucy grinned, and Alastar laughed. “Wait here, we’ll come out when he’s ready.”

“Yes ma’am.” Lucy got up and grabbed the glasses case off the coffee table before following Sirius to the back.

“Are you decent?” she called, and Alastar snickered. He grabbed her half eaten frosty and finished it himself while he waited. There was a few minutes of muffled bickering and fussing, and then quiet murmuring. Though he was very curious to know what they were talking about, he stayed put as requested.

“There,” Lucy said, placing his glasses on his face and taking a step back. “What do you think?”

Sirius turned to face the mirror, and stared. “Oh,” he said. “That is a very different person.”

Lucy smirked, folding her arms across her chest. “Am I good, or what?” Sirius laughed. She relaxed her stance. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Yes?” He met her gaze in the mirror.

“After what Risky said yesterday… If any of us were to offer to train you, would you want that?”

He paused in his preening, thoughtfully silent. “I don’t know,” he finally said after a minute.

Lucy nodded. “Take some time to think about it. I promise I won’t be offended if you say no. Think you’re ready for an audience?”

“You know, the ‘big reveal’ would be more fun if everyone was here.”

Lucy grinned. “You can surprise everyone else next week. For now, Alastar’s our trial run.” She left the bathroom, Sirius walking along behind her. Alastar was absorbed in something on his phone, so she cleared her throat to get his attention. He glanced up at them.

And froze.

He could only stare in stunned silence as he took in the sight before him. Just from his body language, Alastar could tell Sirius already felt much more at ease with himself, and that alone was a huge improvement. They had chosen the lilac shirt and purple tie to go with the light gray vest and pants they had picked out, which worked surprisingly well together. Lucy had styled his hair to emphasize his curls rather than trying to tame them, and had even gone after his unibrow, plucking and shaping it into two separate eyebrows (probably what the fighting was about, he thought with some amusement). The glasses added just the right touch to a look that suited him well.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at him. “What, is it that bad?”

“No!” Alastar hurried to get out. Lucy bit the inside of her cheek to keep a straight face. “It’s just…” He cleared his throat. “Whoa.” She finally gave up the battle and started laughing, and Sirius grinned.