#warehouse exhaust fan installation

[saengicorp-blog]

How to Choose the Right Industrial Fan for Your Facility

Selecting the right industrial fan for your facility can significantly impact air quality, temperature control, and overall productivity. With various types and specifications available, making an informed choice can be challenging. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you navigate through the process, with valuable insights from leading industrial fan manufacturers, and ensure you choose the best industrial fan for your needs.

Understanding Your Requirements

Before diving into the technical specifications, it’s crucial to assess your facility’s specific needs:

Purpose: Determine why you need the fan. Is it for cooling, ventilation, or air circulation?

Environment: Consider the size of the space, the number of workers, and the type of machinery in use.

Air Quality: If your facility deals with dust, fumes, or other airborne particles, you may need a fan with specialized filters.

Types of Industrial Fans

There are several types of industrial fans, each designed for specific applications:

High Volume Low Speed (HVLS) Fans: Ideal for large spaces like warehouses and factories, HVLS fans move large volumes of air at low speeds, providing efficient air circulation and temperature control.

Axial Fans: These are suitable for general ventilation and cooling purposes. They are cost-effective and easy to install.

Centrifugal Fans: Known for their high-pressure capabilities, centrifugal fans are perfect for facilities requiring heavy-duty ventilation and dust control.

Exhaust Fans: Essential for removing stale air, fumes, and contaminants from the environment, making them ideal for kitchens, laboratories, and industrial processes.

Key Factors to Consider

When choosing an industrial fan, consider the following factors:

Airflow and Efficiency: Measure the fan’s cubic feet per minute (CFM) to understand its airflow capacity. Higher CFM indicates better performance. Look for energy-efficient models to reduce operational costs.

Noise Levels: Industrial fans can be noisy, which might affect worker comfort and productivity. Check the decibel (dB) ratings and opt for quieter models if necessary.

Durability and Maintenance: Industrial fans should be robust and withstand harsh conditions. Consider models with low maintenance requirements to minimize downtime.

Control Options: Advanced fans come with variable speed controls, timers, and remote operation capabilities, allowing for better customization and energy savings.

Safety Features: Ensure the fan has safety features like guards, auto shut-off, and overload protection to prevent accidents and equipment damage.

Top Recommendations

Here are some top-rated industrial fans to consider:

Big Ass Fans: Renowned for their HVLS fans, Big Ass Fans offer exceptional performance and energy efficiency.

Greenheck: Specializing in ventilation solutions, Greenheck provides reliable and durable fans for various industrial applications.

SA Engineering Corporation: Known for their high-quality industrial fans, SA Engineering Corporation offers a range of options tailored to different facility needs.

Installation and Maintenance Tips

Proper installation and maintenance are key to ensuring the longevity and efficiency of your industrial fan:

Professional Installation: Hire a professional to install the fan to ensure it’s correctly positioned and secured.

Regular Maintenance: Schedule routine maintenance to clean filters, check for wear and tear, and ensure optimal performance.

Monitor Performance: Keep an eye on the fan’s performance and address any issues promptly to avoid costly repairs or replacements.

Conclusion

Choosing the right industrial fan for your facility involves understanding your specific needs, considering various types and features, and prioritizing efficiency and safety. By following this guide, you can make an informed decision that enhances your facility’s environment and boosts productivity, with insights from leading industrial fan manufacturers.

[krunaldigitalads]

Choosing the Right Industrial Air Cooler Manufacture. What are Benefits of Industrial Air Coolers — Sky Air Cooler

Industrial Air Cooler Manufacturers in Ahmedabad Industrial air coolers play a crucial role in maintaining a comfortable and productive working environment in industrial settings. These coolers are specifically designed to provide efficient cooling for large spaces such as warehouses, factories, and workshops. In Ahmedabad, there are several reputable manufacturers who specialize in producing high-quality industrial air coolers that cater to the unique cooling needs of various industries.

Benefits of Industrial Air Coolers

Industrial Air Cooler offer numerous benefits that make them a preferred choice for cooling large industrial spaces:

Energy-efficient: Industrial air coolers consume significantly less energy compared to traditional air conditioning systems, resulting in lower energy bills.

Cost-effective: The initial investment and maintenance costs of industrial air coolers are relatively lower than other cooling solutions, making them a cost-effective choice for businesses.

Environmentally friendly: These coolers use the natural process of evaporation to cool the air, eliminating the need for harmful refrigerants and reducing carbon footprint.

Improved air quality: Industrial air coolers not only cool the air but also help in improving air circulation and filtering out dust, pollutants, and odors, creating a healthier work environment.

Easy installation and mobility: These coolers are easy to install, and many models come with wheels, allowing for easy mobility and flexibility in cooling different areas within the industrial space.

Industrial Air Cooler Manufacturers in Ahmedabad

When it comes to finding reliable Industrial Air Cooler manufacturers in Ahmedabad, businesses have several options to choose from. These manufacturers offer a wide range of industrial air coolers that are designed to meet the specific cooling requirements of different industries.

Our Products

HEAVY DUTY DUCTABLE AIR COOLER

DUCTABLE AIR COOLER

INDUSTRIAL AIR COOLER

Evaporative Air Cooler 22000 CMH

Exhaust Fan SKYEX-850

Industrial Exhaust Fan for FRP

Roof Top Exhaust Fan

Side Wall Exhaust Fan

HVLS FANS

For More Details Click here : https://www.skyaircooler.com/

[sskyaircooler]

High Volume Low Speed (HVLS) Fans— Sky Air Cooler

HVLS fans are large, industrial ceiling fans that are designed to move significant volumes of air at low rotational speeds. These fans have a diameter of 7 feet to 24 feet and are used for industrial and commercial applications. HVLS fans operate based on a simple principle: moving large amounts of air at low speeds to create a gentle, consistent airflow.

Sky Air Cooler’s HVLS fans are energy-efficient and designed to cover large areas while maintaining a comfortable temperature. They are also easy to install and maintain. HVLS fans reduces energy consumption by circulating air in a room or space more effectively, making them an ideal solution for industries and commercial spaces. They are commonly used in commercial and industrial settings such as warehouses, gyms, barns, and large retail spaces to improve air circulation, reduce energy costs, and enhance comfort.

Our Products

HEAVY DUTY DUCTABLE AIR COOLER

DUCTABLE AIR COOLER

INDUSTRIAL AIR COOLER

Evaporative Air Cooler 22000 CMH

Exhaust Fan SKYEX-850

Industrial Exhaust Fan for FRP

Roof Top Exhaust Fan

Side Wall Exhaust Fan

HVLS FANS

For More Details Click here : https://www.skyaircooler.com/

[kitchensupplies25]

Enhancing Indoor Air Quality with Roof-Mounted Exhaust Fans and Electrical HVAC Systems

In today's rapidly evolving world, the importance of indoor air quality cannot be overstated. Whether it's a commercial space, industrial facility, or residential building, ensuring that occupants breathe clean, fresh air is paramount.

Roof-mounted exhaust fans serve as the first line of defense against indoor air pollutants. These fans are strategically installed on the roof of buildings to expel stale air, moisture, and contaminants from enclosed spaces. By harnessing the natural process of convection, roof-mounted exhaust fans facilitate the circulation of air, preventing the buildup of harmful substances and promoting ventilation.

Paired with roof-mounted exhaust fans, electrical HVAC systems play a crucial role in maintaining optimal indoor air quality and comfort levels. These systems utilize advanced technology to regulate temperature, humidity, and airflow within enclosed environments. By actively filtering and conditioning incoming air, electrical HVAC systems help remove impurities and allergens, creating a healthier atmosphere for occupants.

TBC Supplies offers a diverse range of roof-mounted exhaust fans and electrical HVAC systems to suit various applications and requirements. Whether it's a small office building, a large warehouse, or a residential complex, our products are designed to deliver reliable performance and energy efficiency.

Key features of our roof-mounted exhaust fans include:

Durable construction for long-term reliability

High-efficiency motors for reduced energy consumption

Weather-resistant design for outdoor installation

Variable speed options for customizable ventilation

Similarly, our electrical HVAC systems boast several advantages, including:

Precision temperature and humidity control for enhanced comfort

Programmable settings for optimal energy management

Advanced filtration technology for improved indoor air quality

Quiet operation for minimal disruption to occupants

At TBC Supplies, we are committed to providing innovative solutions that prioritize the health and well-being of building occupants. By integrating roof-mounted exhaust fans and electrical HVAC systems, we help create environments that are not only comfortable but also conducive to productivity and overall wellness.

[lulurayyan]

Buy Fans at the Best Prices in Qatar | Lulu Rayyan Group

As the scorching summer sun beats down, keeping cool becomes a top priority for everyone. Whether you’re working in a warehouse, managing an industrial facility, or simply trying to stay comfortable at home, the right cooling solutions can make all the difference. That’s where Lurite Industrial Fans come into play.

Lulu Rayyan Group Building Material Suppliers in Qatar proudly presents Lurite Industrial Fans, the ultimate solution to beat the summer heat. With our range of industrial pedestal, wall, and exhaust fans, you can ensure a comfortable environment wherever you are.

Industrial Pedestal Fans: These fans are designed to deliver powerful airflow while remaining portable and easy to move around. Perfect for warehouses, factories, or workshops, they provide relief from stifling heat and improve air circulation.

· Industrial fan 24 ‘’ FS600 LURITE

· Industrial fan 26 ‘’ FS650 LURITE

Wall Fans: When floor space is limited, wall fans offer a convenient cooling solution. Mount them high up to maximize airflow and create a comfortable environment without cluttering your space. Ideal for offices, gyms, or any area where space is at a premium.

· Industrial wall fan 26 “FW650 LURITE

Exhaust Fans: Proper ventilation is essential for maintaining indoor air quality, particularly in industrial environments where chemicals and heat can build. Lurite exhaust fans effectively eliminate stale air, pollutants, and odors, resulting in a healthier and more comfortable environment for everyone.

· GI Exhaust fan W/O SHUTTER: 8 INCH,10 INCH,12 INCH,16 INCH,18 INCH, 24 INCH

· GI Exhaust fan with SHUTTER: 8 INCH,10 INCH

PVC Exhaust Fans: When it comes to removing hot and stale air from enclosed spaces, our PVC exhaust fans are the solution. Designed to effectively ventilate bathrooms, kitchens, and other confined areas, these fans help prevent the build-up of humidity and odors, creating a healthier and more pleasant environment for everyone.

· ROUND EXHAUST FAN: 6-INCH AND 8-INCH

· SQUARE EXHAUST FAN:6 INCH,8 INCH,10 INCH,12 INCH

Why Choose Lurite Industrial Fans?

Superior Performance: Lurite fans are designed for optimum airflow and efficiency, delivering remarkable cooling performance even in the highest temperatures.

Durability: Our fans are created from high-quality materials to resist the rigors of industrial applications, ensuring long-term reliability.

Energy Efficiency: Lurite fans use innovative motor technology and aerodynamic designs to provide powerful cooling while using little energy, saving you cash on utilities.

Easy Installation: Our fans have been constructed for easy installation, with simple instructions and mounting hardware included.

Lurite is a trusted brand, backed by the reputation of Lulu Rayyan Group Building Material Suppliers.

Do not let the summer heat slow you down. Invest in Lurite industrial fans now to stay cool and comfortable all season. Contact us today to learn more or place an order. Beat the heat with Lurite, your reliable cooling solution!

[vicairr]

Optimizing Workspace Airflow: The Essential Guide to Industrial Ventilation Fans

Introduction: In industrial settings, ensuring proper ventilation is paramount for maintaining a safe and productive working environment. Industrial Ventilation Fans play a crucial role in achieving optimal airflow, controlling temperature, removing pollutants, and promoting overall air quality. This comprehensive guide explores the key features, benefits, and considerations when selecting and utilizing industrial ventilation fans.

Types of Industrial Ventilation Fans:

Axial Fans:

Ideal for applications requiring large volumes of air at low pressure.

Suited for general ventilation, cooling, and exhaust purposes.

Commonly used in warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and automotive workshops.

Centrifugal Fans:

Efficient for moving air against higher pressures.

Suitable for applications such as dust collection, fume extraction, and material conveying.

Commonly found in industries with stringent air quality requirements, like pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Mixed Flow Fans:

Combine characteristics of both axial and centrifugal fans.

Offer a balance between airflow volume and pressure.

Ideal for versatile applications in commercial and industrial spaces.

Key Considerations:

Airflow Requirements:

Assess the specific needs of the workspace to determine the required airflow volume and pressure.

Environmental Factors:

Consider the presence of dust, chemicals, or other contaminants in the industrial setting when selecting materials for fan construction.

Noise Level:

Evaluate noise requirements and choose fans with appropriate sound levels for the workspace.

Energy Efficiency:

Opt for fans with high-efficiency motors to reduce energy consumption and operational costs.

Installation and Maintenance:

Ensure ease of installation and accessibility for routine maintenance to maximize the lifespan of the ventilation system.

Benefits of Industrial Ventilation Fans:

Improved Air Quality:

Ventilation fans help remove pollutants, odors, and airborne contaminants, creating a healthier working environment for employees.

Temperature Control:

Efficient airflow aids in regulating temperatures, preventing heat buildup in industrial spaces and enhancing employee comfort.

Moisture Regulation:

Industrial ventilation fans assist in controlling humidity levels, reducing the risk of mold growth and equipment corrosion.

Increased Productivity:

Proper ventilation contributes to a more comfortable and conducive workspace, positively impacting employee well-being and productivity.

Equipment Longevity:

Adequate ventilation prevents overheating of machinery, extending the lifespan of industrial equipment.

Case Study: Industrial Ventilation in Manufacturing Plants

In a manufacturing plant, the installation of axial fans strategically placed along assembly lines significantly improved air circulation. This not only reduced the buildup of fumes from welding and machining processes but also enhanced overall ventilation. As a result, employee satisfaction and productivity increased, and the facility complied with air quality standards. The investment in industrial ventilation fans proved to be a cost-effective solution, as it contributed to a safer and more efficient manufacturing environment.

Conclusion:

Industrial Ventilation Fans are indispensable for maintaining a healthy and efficient workspace in various industrial settings. By carefully selecting the right type of fan based on airflow requirements, environmental factors, and other considerations, businesses can optimize air quality, temperature, and overall working conditions. Investing in quality industrial ventilation fans not only ensures compliance with safety standards but also contributes to the well-being and productivity of the workforce.

[sunfiber]

Top Supplier of FRP Blower in Rajasthan

Sunfiber: Sunfiber is a Manufacturer and Supplier of FRP Blower in Rajasthan, India. What are FRP blowers? FRP blowers, or Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic blowers, are industrial fans crafted from a composite material that combines the strength of fiberglass with the corrosion resistance and lightweight properties of plastic. Key Features: Corrosion Resistance: Suitable for handling highly corrosive gases and liquids, making them ideal for applications in chemical processing, wastewater treatment, and other industrial settings. Lightweight: Compared to metal blowers, FRP blowers are lighter, facilitating easier installation and handling. Durability: The fiberglass construction offers excellent resistance to wear and tear, extending the blower's lifespan. Noise Reduction: The composite material dampens vibrations and noise, contributing to a quieter operating environment. Customizable: FRP blowers can be tailored to meet specific flow rates, pressure, and material requirements. Applications: Chemical Processing: Used for handling fumes and gases produced in various chemical reactions. Wastewater Treatment: Employed in exhausting air from aeration tanks and other treatment processes. Pollution Control: Utilized for removing dust, fumes, and emissions in industrial facilities. Aquaculture: Applied in aerating ponds and tanks for fish and shrimp farming. General Ventilation: Provides air circulation in factories, warehouses, and large spaces. Types of FRP Blowers: Centrifugal Blowers: The most common type, utilizing impellers to generate airflow. Axial Blowers: Move air parallel to the shaft axis. Positive Displacement Blowers: Trap and move air pockets for precise control. Supplier in Rajasthan: Sunfiber is a Top Supplier of FRP Blower in Rajasthan such as Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Bhiwadi, Bikaner, Udaipur, Ajmer, Bhilwara, Alwar, Sikar, Bharatpur, Pali, Sri Ganganagar, Kishangarh, Baran, Dhaulpur, Tonk, Beawar, and Hanumangarh. Read the full article

[techtimiaengineeringpteltd]

Industrial Engineering, Refrigeration And Air-conditioning

The term industrial engineering in general is related with the designing, analysing, production and service operations and allied services that usually are carried out in engineering houses. Decades ago, industrial engineers were said to be restricted to working in a manufacturing unit who were just connected with the operating of machines and deliver the targeted outputs. But since then times have changed and as technology advanced, they are not only concerned with productivity but also the other technicalities production, management and control. With their job scopes that range from the designing to controlling operations and production systems, they efficiently handle quality control, inventory, and equipment maintenance and warehouse and materials management. Likewise, while we discuss about this, there are certain common engineering related services that are prevalent in the industrial sector, they are, Aircon Chemical Overhauling Services, HVAC/ACMV Services, axial exhaust fan servicing and maintenance, freezer repair services and so on. Advanced high level plumbing works are also considered as industrial services since it involves piping of water supply, industrial waste and allied services. Likewise, Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning or for short HVAC, is carried out by the involving different know-hows so as how to control the temperature, humidity, and pureness of the air in specified area or space. The main objective of this HVAC installation service is to provide comfort and improve indoor air quality. Nevertheless, HVAC system services is a branch of mechanical engineering services, which is grounded on the ethics and theories of thermodynamics & heat transfer. The terms heating, ventilation, and air conditioning are interrelated, and when executed with reasonable operation costs, these HVAC systems can be used in domestic and commercial environs. This is considered as one of the important and major engineering services. Industrial refrigeration service is also considered a critical engineering service, since the installation, maintenance and repairing requires a high degree of technical expertise. Hence, HVAC operation and maintenance, system designing and construction, must be entrusted to a qualified and experienced organization which is an expert and can carry out the job successfully. In this regard Techtimia located in Singapore is one of the top notch organizations in the engineering service sectors. With an outstanding expertise in industrial engineering services sector, Techtimia has been offering first class services to its clients ever since its inception, and  provides excellent support from the initial stage of the design process to the successful completion of the project. To Learn About More Details On Aircon Chemical Washing Services in Singapore Please Come And Visit Our Website..!

[thegranulator]

How does the organic fertilizer dryer work?

 A full set of organic fertilizer production equipment includes: fermentation turning machine, crusher, feeder, horizontal mixer, organic fertilizer granulator machine, dryer, cooling machine, screening machine, weighing and packaging machine. What role does the organic fertilizer dryer play in the organic fertilizer production process? How does it work? How to set up the organic fertilizer dryer? The processing of organic fertilizer not only requires the cooperation of the fermentation equipment in the organic fertilizer equipment, but also requires the drying, packaging and other processes in the later stage. At this time, in order to achieve the desired effect, how to set up the drying system?

Before using fertilizer dryer, the material needs to be fed first. In order to prevent abnormal phenomena such as material clogging, it is recommended to use a hopper with asymmetric geometry, or increase the inclination angle of the hopper wall, and set a puncture hole at the outlet. At the same time, pay attention to reducing the materials in the warehouse, reduce the pressure of the warehouse, and design the arched vibration feeding hopper according to the nature of the materials, which is used for feeding the organic fertilizer dryer.

Next, if drying, the drying heat system generally includes a combustion chamber, an organic fertilizer dryer, and exhaust dust removal. Among them, the selection of exhaust fans and dust collectors should meet the requirements of organic fertilizer equipment. The discharge port under the suction hood should be equipped with an air lock device, and insulation and heat preservation measures should be taken for dust collectors and exhaust pipes.

In addition, the combustion chamber of the organic fertilizer dryer equipment should generally consider setting up an "air-flue gas" mixing chamber to install a thermometer for measuring the temperature of the flue gas and a cold air door for adjusting the mixing amount of cold air. A reasonable windshield should also be designed to prevent high-temperature flames from burning to the dryer cylinder and feeding pipe.

[servicemastercleanbelair]

Use Holiday Downtime to Schedule a Deep Cleaning for Your Facility

If yours is like most businesses, your foot traffic in your building decreases dramatically during the days surrounding Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. You have employees taking much-needed time off, and unless you’re in retail, you may not have as many clients or patients coming through your doors.

As a facility manager, property manager, or office manager, it’s your job to keep your offices or building looking their best. But that can be hard to do with heavy occupancy. That’s why the holiday break periods are a great time to schedule a deep cleaning for your facility.

Let’s look at some of the things you’ll want to include.

Commercial Carpet Cleaning

Depending on the last time you had your carpets cleaned, you may want to schedule commercial carpet cleaning during the holiday break. This is also a good time to ask your commercial cleaning company if they provide mats you can put at entry doors to protect your carpeting from the salt, snow, and slush people will begin to track in during the winter.

Upholstery Cleaning

If you have a waiting room or offices where clients or patients sit, the upholstery will need periodic cleaning. No one wants to sit on a stained chair or couch, and it speaks badly of your business. Scheduling upholstery cleaning during holiday downtime ensures the least disruption.

Deep Clean the Restrooms

When was the last time your restrooms received a deep clean? Not the daily clean the toilets and wipe down the sinks clean. We mean the deep clean the tile, grout, stalls, walls, and exhaust fans. The best time to do the deep clean is when no one needs to use the restroom.

Deep Clean the Kitchen or Break Room

Your janitorial service cleans the kitchen or breakroom on a regular basis. But that may not include cleaning the microwave(s) and clearing out the refrigerators. The holiday break is an excellent time to schedule this. They can remove all the baked-on goo in the microwaves, and dump everything except water and unopened sodas from the refrigerators and give the inside a good cleaning and disinfecting.

The last thing anyone wants to find when they come back from a holiday break is some science experiment in the fridge.

Let the Light Shine

Now is also a good time for cleaning those hard-to-reach lighting fixtures. Your commercial cleaning team may need to use ladders to reach some fixtures. Point out which fixtures are dusty or grimy. Cleaning them can change a dim warehouse floor to a brightly-lit area. The team can use this opportunity to replace any burned-out bulbs as well.

Cleaning the inside of your windows can let more natural light in. Do you have windows high up in a cavernous warehouse that haven’t been cleaned since they were installed? Arrange to clean them now, during holiday downtime. Your employees will notice the difference when they return.

Get a FREE Quote for Baltimore Commercial Cleaning Services

If you are looking to schedule a deep cleaning of your Baltimore area building or facility, we can help. We have decades of experience cleaning and sanitizing commercial facilities of all kinds, from warehouses to medical facilities to office buildings. We do deep cleaning as a one-time project, or as a service to our existing customers.

We are now booking deep-clean appointments for the holiday break periods. Because deep cleaning can take longer and require more employees, spots are limited, so call 410-618-4527 or fill out the Get a Quote form to get started. We serve clients in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Harford County.

[matrixaffiliate]

Pseudonym

New Story! FFN and AO3

Part of the @harryandginuary Big Bang Event!

Huge thank you to @tumbledfreckles for the mood board! It's amazing love!

For @magic-girl-in-a-muggle-world who picked the prompt for this story.

And thank you to @tumbledfreckles @magic-girl-in-a-muggle-world @midnightelite deadwoodpecker, lilyevansJan30, and HazzaP for beta-ing and really making this story shine! It wouldn't be half as good as it is without you! Love y'all!

James has been writing mystery novels for seven years, under a pseudonym, and for a bit more than a year, he's known he's been living across the hall from his biggest fan, Lily Evans. But Lily has an idea that's going to pull the rug out from under him.

A Jily Muggle AU.

Pseudonym

James looked at the final cut on his screen, reading the ending of his sixth book one more time before the printer would start cutting copies.

A bullet hit Ravi’s vest, leaving him gasping for breath. He tried to push past the jolt being shot gave him and get his head back in the game.

Then he realized the shots had stopped coming at them.

"Clear!" Nick called from over where the gunshots had been coming, frowning at the two lifeless forms on the ground.

Ravi stood and slid another magazine into his .45, not wanting to be caught unarmed having already avoided a close miss.

"Everyone alright?" Nick asked as he found the lights.

"Arora, did you take a hit?" One of the officers approached Ravi.

"I'm alright, hit my vest."

Nick nodded. "Let’s get medical out here and have one look at you. These two aren’t with us anymore."

Ravi looked around the warehouse. It was going to take ages to sort all of this evidence; he'd never seen so much cocaine. He should probably take the break while it was available, even if he didn’t think he needed it.

"On it."

After a quick look over by an EMT, Ravi got confirmation of what he already knew; he was going to have a massive bruise and some sore days ahead, but at least he wasn't dead. He moved to go help with the evidence when his favorite voice called out his name.

"Ravi!"

All his exhaustion and pain seemed to fade as he saw her.

"Sarah." He smiled at the beautiful woman on the other side of the yellow tape and moved closer to her. "Getting your inside scoop for tomorrow's paper?"

"Just happened to be nearby." She winked at him. "And someone showed me how to use a police scanner."

"What a great guy." Ravi looked around before leaning in closer. "A great guy would also like you to know that if you finish that article before sunrise, he'd be happy to point you to a place with the best apple pie."

"I’ll keep that in mind," Sarah laughed. "And let you get back to work." She waved her fingers at him before moving towards the EMTs and Ravi moved back to the crime scene, grinning.

If he'd realized anything after getting shot, it was that soon, he needed to tell Sarah how he felt about her.

But tonight, he'd focus on wrapping up this case and keeping Grandville safe for its citizens.

"Well," James paused, "I think it's ready."

James sent the go-ahead to Sirius for his next Grandville Mystery installment to hit the presses and then shut down his writing laptop, tucking it safely away so no one would find it. That way no part of James' life could get mixed up with that of F. J. Pearson's.

James had been writing as F. J. Pearson for seven years and churned out five fast-paced mystery novels in that time. His speed with finishing the novels had been steadily increasing, having managed a book per year for the last three. He was at the point where he was seriously considering quitting his day job of writing physics textbooks and writing mystery novels full time.

But even if he made that jump, James was determined to keep a good amount of distance between himself and F. J. Pearson. It wasn't exactly a state secret but only Sirius knew that James was a published mystery writer and only because he was James' agent and editor. Sirius' silence on the matter was guaranteed when James threatened to never write a novel again if Sirius let it slip who F. J. Pearson really was.

James chuckled as he remembered the two in the morning phone call that came after he'd sent Sirius his first manuscript asking to know if it was any good.

"Where do you come off?"

"Sirius?" He had groggily tried to register his best friend's phone call.

"Don't BS me, James, did you pay someone to write this?"

"What are you on about?"

"The book, James! Ravi! Grandville! Did you write it or did you pay someone? This is important, James!"

"I wrote it, Sirius," James groaned and sat up in bed. "Every word is mine."

"What in the world are you doing working with Remus on textbooks?! I read books for a living and I could not put this thing down!"

"So, it's ok?" James had felt the embers of hope start to glow in his chest.

"No it's not ok," James could hear Sirius roll his eyes, "It's brilliant! Call in sick to work in the morning and meet me at my office at 9. You're a mystery author, James, not a science textbook bore!"

Sirius had hung up the phone before James could answer. By the next morning, James had received a bunch of instructions from Sirius on how to edit his manuscript as well as a pending agreement with Sirius' main publisher.

Which had started a whole new argument with his brother.

"A pen name?" Sirius laughed and handed James another set of papers to sign. "Why on earth would you want a pen name?"

"I'm not using my given one."

"What? So you'll go by Wilberforce?"

"Sirius-"

"Bathsheba?"

"I was thinking Elvendork, seeing as it's unisex," James smirked at the laughter he pulled from Sirius.

"James, look-"

"No Sirius, I'm not going to let this affect Dad's business. The last thing I want is for Sleekeazy to suffer because this book gets terrible reviews." James stuck a hand in his hair, hoping not to reveal why he was really concerned. In an attempt to keep Sirius from realizing the true reason, James quickly added. "And I absolutely do not want this book to get a lot of attention because I'm the son of Fleamont Potter."

"Get your hand out of your hair.” Sirius huffed.

“Mum’s not here to get upset at me for it. I don’t know why you feel the need to fill in for her.” James lowered his hand.

“You're ridiculous you know that?" Sirius had clicked something on his computer, his eyes unseeing, his tone exasperated. James wasn't sure if Sirius had guessed James' reason for wanting a penname or was just unhappy not getting his way. "But fine, if it brings your genius into the world, what's the pen name you're working under? Because as much as I admire the genius that is Elvendork, this publisher will just assign you something different."

"F. J. Pearson."

Sirius turned to stare at him. "For all the imagination it took for you to write this book, you certainly know how to be boring in your name choice. Fleamont James Pearson?"

"Do you want to put the book out there or not?" James threw his hands up in the air.

"Fine. But I'm putting your real city in the author bio."

James had rolled his eyes. "Fine."

The pen name gave James anonymity, so he would never cause any sort of negative consequences for Sleekeazy. But James had also reasoned it gave him a way out if his book didn't sell; no one but him and Sirius would know he'd published a flop, and it could fade into the background of his life.

But oh, how the book sold.

James had been flabbergasted.

Sirius had been insufferably smug.

James' first book was on the top twenty best sellers list for four weeks straight. James couldn't believe it. He'd written a book and people were buying it - and liking it. James thought he'd done well, scratched the itch to write something more engaging than a textbook, and maybe someday in twenty years he'd fess up to being F. J Pearson and writing the one successful book he'd published.

But then Sirius had told him to write another.

"There's a series here, mate." Sirius had leant back in his office chair and tossed his feet up on his desk.

"It was really just the one book," James had hedged. "I never intended to write more than one."

"James, your publisher wants another. They're getting questions from readers about when your next book is coming out. Your fans want another Grandville Mystery. And when you finish that one, there'll be questions about another."

James shook his head. "I don't even know what will happen next."

"There's always one crime or another in a city." Sirius shrugged. "Pick something other than a jewelry thief and write about that. Oh, and I think you should play up something between Ravi and Sarah. That'll pull in more readers from the romance genre."

"Anything else?" He pulled on his hair.

"The sooner the better." Sirius' phone had rung then and the conversation ended with James feeling rather put upon.

He'd written one book, why should anyone expect him to write another? He'd never intended to write another.

But the more James had thought about writing a series of stories in Grandville with Ravi, the more he was drawn to the idea...

The second book came easier than the first, and the third easier than that. It had taken time, but James slowly got the hang of it and had learned when to recognize he'd taken the story the wrong way and how to course-correct. He'd grown not just as a writer, but he'd grown into a fully-fledged mystery author.

And now the series wasn't so little.

As he had written this, his sixth Granville novel, James felt he was just now hitting his stride; once the idea hit, the story didn't fight so hard to roll from his brain to the keyboard. Now a book a year felt doable. Now he felt ready to quit his day job and write novels full time.

But there was a little complication he hadn't figured out his way around yet though, and that complication was one of his readers.

Lily Evans was potentially F. J. Pearson's biggest fan. She wrote to him to thank him for each and every book. She shared all the promotional social media posts he put up for his books. She'd read his five books at least fifty times each. She knew his characters almost as well as he knew them.

Any author would consider Lily the perfect fan. Their best supporter. The kind of reader they could count on to read and love and support their stories.

There was just one problem.

Lily Evans was also James' next-door neighbor.

She'd moved in a few months after the release of his fourth book, and James had been happy to have a new person across from his flat to share a wall with.  He'd grown tired of the last bloke playing folk music turned up to eleven at one in the morning, long before he'd moved out

When James had first seen Lily, he thought he might have died on his way home from the market without realizing it and was now in heaven.

"Hello." She smiled from her doorway, a folding chair in hand, clearly meant to be brought into her flat. "I'm your new neighbor. Sorry for the noise. I'm just getting a head start on my things before my friends come help with the rest."

James realized a second too late his hand was in his hair. Thankfully his mum was nowhere in sight. "No, it's James, I mean, I'm fine, I mean, the noise, it's fine, I'm James."

She'd laughed and he'd decided it was his new favorite sound.

"I'm Lily."

"Do you want help with your things?" James stuck his hand in his pocket and held his breath.

"Are you up for carrying heavy things?" She smirked at him and James felt his heart do a cartwheel.

"What else are neighbors for?"

She bit her lip and smiled and James was sure his heart was going to burst. Ok, so he probably wasn’t dead if that was any indication.

"I'm sure there are other things but today I'll settle for a lift with the big stuff. These stairs are murder."

By the time they'd pivoted some overly large pieces of furniture up the twisting stairs, a tentative friendship had been born. James barely managed to somehow not make a fool of himself at every turn - or beg her to go out with him. He spent more time outside now, too, because Lily loved to sit on her balcony, and James' balcony just so happened to be right next to hers. If they'd both leant towards the other across the railings he'd be close enough to kiss her - not that he was thinking about kissing her.

Not overtly anyway.

He learned to recognize the sound of Lily's balcony door opening, and there were very few things he wouldn't stop in the middle of to go sit on the balcony with her. The moments shared across their joined fence made him feel close to her, close with her.

Then one day about a month before his fifth book was to be released, James walked out to his balcony and found Lily relaxing in the patio chair he'd hauled up for her, reading a well-worn paperback book.

"Good evening, Lily." He'd sat down in the folding chair he kept outside now. "What book is lucky enough to be read by you?"

"One of my favorites, F. J. Pearson's first Grandville Mystery." Lily held up her copy of his book with a happy sigh and soft smile. "Have you read them? The fifth book comes out next month and I'm going to re-read the first four before I get my copy of the newest one."

James' hand immediately was shoved in his hair and he turned to look away from Lily with his book in her hands. How had he never realized that Lily Evans, his next-door neighbor, was Lily Evans, F. J. Pearson's biggest fan?

But how would he have guessed? There were a few hundred thousand Evans in the UK, and Lily was reasonably common as well. James had just assumed they were different women. Probably because he never let himself be F. J. Pearson outside of writing the books and doing the small amount of advertising he did. So around Lily, he was always just James Fleamont Potter.

"James?"

Right, she'd asked him a question.

"I've, I've actually read them, all of them, several times." He swallowed the bitter taste that accompanied the deliberate half-truth.

"Really?" He could hear the excitement in her voice. "I don't know anyone I can talk to, outside of the internet anyway, who’s read these. Would you ever want to talk about them?"

James still couldn't bring himself to look at her as he answered. "Yeah, that would be pretty grand."

"I see what you did there," Lily laughed, "Grand in Grandville. Do you care if I go on and on about how perfect Ravi and Sarah are for each other? Because I swear if I don't get a story where Ravi finally stops goofing around and tells Sarah how he feels I'm going to hunt down F. J. Pearson and ask why they insist on torturing me."

James pulled hard on his hair. He'd been deliberately dragging that out, mostly because it helped move the mystery plots forward in easy ways. "I think Ravi and Sarah will figure themselves out."

"I'm sure." Lily waved the book around, "I just want it to happen already. We're already four books in! How long do I have to wait for them to get together?"

"I bet it's just a couple of books away, he probably has it planned out." He most certainly did not! "Setting things up and all that."

James swallowed hard. What was he doing?!

"Oh! You think F. J. Pearson is a man?"

James couldn't help but turn to look at her, his bottom jaw by his shoes. "You think he's a woman?"

"Well, no, not really," Lily chuckled, "A woman would have pushed Ravi and Sarah together by now. But the initials don't tell us what their gender is. They could be a woman."

James laughed in spite of himself. "I'd bet my next paycheck F. J. Pearson is a man."

Lily smirked at him from her chair. "If I didn't agree with you I'd take you up on that bet."

James smiled over as she laughed, but internally, his mind was screaming at him.

He was an idiot. He should have told her he'd never heard of F. J. Pearson. He should have told her mystery novels weren't his thing. He should have changed the subject and not come back to it.

But anything that connected him further to Lily was just too tempting. And if they could connect over his books, why not? After all, his own mother didn't know he wrote novels. He could do this, just be another ordinary reader of his own books, he could do that if it meant he got more time with Lily.

Swallowing his guilt, James hardened his resolve. "So, what sort of crime would you want to see Ravi solve?"

That question had started not only six months’ worth of discussions about his books but had also brought him closer to Lily. They had shifted from friendly neighbors to close friends, hanging out away from their balconies, meeting each other’s mates. It made him hopeful that maybe someday they could be more.

James had even picked Lily's brain about what she hoped to see in his next book. This had resulted in the book he'd just sent back to Sirius, his sixth installment, being heavily influenced by Lily and her ideas. James was nervous for Lily to read it and see all of her ideas in the book. But he hoped the book would make her smile, and he could enjoy being the reason she smiled, even if it was through a pen name.

James heard the sound of Lily's balcony door as he tucked away his laptop and grinned. Time to go see a beautiful woman.

"Morning!" Lily smiled at him as she watered her potted flowers.

"Good morning, Lily." He moved to the railing between their balconies. "How's your Saturday?"

"Lovely," she beamed. "I've had an absolute stroke of genius!"

"This is not surprising news."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Aren't you going to ask me what my brilliant idea is?"

"Sure, but I already know it's going to be the best idea I've ever heard."

Lily laughed as she watered her plants. "I'm going to email F. J. Pearson and ask him to do a public signing and maybe a reading when he releases his next book."

James blinked, not realizing that his lower jaw was down on the pavement two stories below him.

"See!" Lily laughed, "You're shocked you didn't think of it first."

"He- he- he's never done any public events before." James stammered as his brain tried to wrap around Lily's genius idea.

There was a very good reason for F. J. Pearson to refrain from public events.

“Just because he hasn’t done any events before now doesn’t mean he won’t. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t think he has the fan base to support it, which now he does. And besides, it never hurts anything to ask.”

"I- I- I- I guess…"

Lily giggled, "I'll let you know what he says. I've got a draft on my phone and I'll probably send it today."

"Great." James realized his hand was in his hair and he pulled on it to try and gain some grip on all the emotions that threatened to bubble over.

"I'll see you later." Lily smiled at him, a smile that made him wonder what he'd done to get her to look at him that way. "I've got to run."

"Yeah, have a good Saturday."

"You too, James." She slipped into her flat with a little wave of her delicate fingers.

James moved back inside as well and shut his door.

Then he swore.

And swore again.

What was he doing???

He should have never led her to believe he was just another reader. The second he realized that Lily Evans, his next-door neighbor, was the same Lily Evans who shared every social media post that F. J. Pearson posted and sent thank you emails for each and every book he put out, he should have faked a phone call and ran away. He should have stopped after one book and told Sirius and his publisher he wouldn't turn this into a series. He should have never shown Sirius the first bloody book at all. He should have burned it instead.

He should go open his laptop back up.

James moved back to his bedroom, pulling his writing laptop from under the blankets in the bottom drawer of his desk.

Maybe he'd get lucky and Lily would send the email before she left for her Saturday to-do list and he could see exactly what she was hoping for. Then he’d have the entire day to think of a plan to get himself out of this mess he’d made.

He opened F. J. Pearson's email and shoved his hand in his hair.

Nothing.

He refreshed the page.

Nothing.

He refreshed the page again.

Nothing.

He swore.

Then his phone rang.

“You can not have read my edits that quickly,” James said as he answered Sirius’ call.

“Tetchy, what’s up?”

James shoved his hand back to untidy locks. “Nothing.”

“So, your hand is not in your hair?” Sirius’ voice was accusing.

“No.” James pulled the offending body part down and sat on it.

“You don’t fool Mum or me you know that right?” Sirius paused. “Really, James, is everything alright?”

James leant back in his desk chair and looked at his computer screen. It would only be a matter of time before he’d have to tell Sirius what he’d done. Might as well get it out of the way now.

“I may have made a mistake.”

“That’s in character.” Sirius snickered.

“Hey!”

“What did you do, James?”

“Lily-”

“Universe, give me strength.”

“She reads my books.”

“Really?” Sirius sounded amused when James wanted him to sound alarmed. “That’s brilliant! So are you going to tell her you’re F. J. Pearson and we can do away with this ridiculous charade along with the two of you dancing around each other?”

James felt his hand creep back up into his hair of its own accord “I’ve actually known she reads my books for almost a year now.”

The line was silent.

“Sirius?”

“I can not believe you right now.”

“I panicked!”

“Is that why this book feels different than the first five?”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you been asking Lily what she wants in your books?”

Crap.

“James?”

“Yes.” He dropped his head to his desk.

Sirius swore. “This is why I told Mum about Lily. This right here. You’re gone for her, mate.”

“Is that why Mum suddenly started bringing me food?! I'm not the son that messes with her recipes! I don't need her bringing me enough food to solve world hunger every week!"

“Don’t get off topic, she just wants to meet Lily.” Sirius paused. “And tie your hands to your side.”

“I hate you so much, do you know that?”

“No you don't, but moving back on topic, you lied to Lily, and now we need to find a way for you to tell her you’ve been an idiot, right?”

James went silent, trying to determine how to broach the next problem.

“Why do I think there’s more?”

James could hear Sirius roll his eyes, and he sighed in defeat.

“She’s going to email F. J. Pearson and ask that my next book has an author signing and reading.”

“Well, mate, sounds like you’ve just dug your grave. You’ve fancied this woman for a year and a half and then killed any chance you might have had.”

James swore.

“What were you thinking?”

“I don’t know?!” James lifted his head from his desk. “I thought it would be a way for us to spend more time together. We still weren’t really close when I found out and she was so excited to have someone to talk about my books with, and it worked, we’re, we’re friends now.” James felt his stomach turn at his words. "I should have just pretended not to have known what she was talking about."

“Why didn’t you just tell her you were the author?” Sirius huffed. “Then she could have freaked out that she lived next door to her favorite author.”

“I don’t know if I’m her favorite author.”

“If she gave you ideas for this book then I’m going to wager you are at least top five.”

“Crap.”

“I repeat. What were you thinking?”

James swallowed. He knew exactly why he hadn't told her the truth. He couldn't; not without risking another fiasco. James heard his computer ding and looked up to see an email in his inbox.

From Lily.

“I need to go.”

“She emailed you didn’t she?”

“Yep.”

“Read it to me. I’m your agent and editor and unfortunately, that professional relationship means I need to help get you out of this hole you’ve dug yourself into.”

James shook his head even as his hand moved the mouse to open the email.

“No, I’m not reading a private message to you.”

“Private?” Sirius scoffed. “James, wouldn’t you like help to get out of this one?" Sirius' voice softened. "You’ve certainly had your fair share of pulling me out of my stupid situations."

James swallowed as the mouse hovered over Lily's email.

"Besides," Sirius pushed on. "If you’re agreeing to public events, I need to let your publisher know.”

“I’m not agreeing to anything.”

“You’re so hung up on Lily that you lied to her about being F. J. Pearson. I think that’s a fair indication you might inadvertently agree to a public event.”

James groaned.

Why had he told Sirius?

“James,” the teasing had gone completely out of his brother’s voice. “I get it, alright, I get where you were coming from. But you’ve got to fix it if you want any chance with Lily.”

“I know; I just don’t know how. I’ve lied to her for months.”

“Right, that’s a bugger, but if you come clean, tell her it’s you, then maybe she won’t stay mad at you for too long and you can win her back.”

“Relationship advice? From you?”

“Desperate times, mate. Now let’s hear what the dashing Lily Evans has to say.”

James resigned himself and opened the email.

“Dear F. J. Pearson,

I hope you recognize the name, I'm Lily Evans and I've written you before. I’m so excited for your sixth book to release! My friend and I have been talking about it a lot and I’ve an idea for it that I hope you’ll consider.

I think a signing for this upcoming book and maybe a reading too would be amazing for your fans! I know you've never done a public event before, but I think you've got the fan base to support you. At the least, my friend and I would be sitting in the front row.

Kind regards,

Lily Evans"

James dropped his head back down and groaned.

"I mean, she makes some good points," Sirius chuckled.

James glanced at the screen, hoping a miracle had occurred and the email was gone, and swore when it hadn't.

"Write her back and tell her you'll talk to your publisher. She makes some good points and I think we should discuss you coming clean with the world, especially Mum and Dad." Sirius was back to business. "Then pick a time and tell Lily who F. J. Pearson is."

"Right." James swallowed. "I'll email her back."

"Don't worry, James," Sirius' voice was worryingly reassuring. "I'll be there if it starts to tear at the seams, just like you've been for me."

"Thanks, Sirius." James gave in and let himself mess with his hair, figuring he deserved some slack. "Enjoy your Saturday.'

"You've got this, James." Then the call disconnected.

But he didn't.

James didn't have this.

He stared at the screen, his mouse hovering over the word reply.

Maybe he could wait a day.

No. That was more of the kind of thinking that got him into this mess.

Steeling himself, James set his fingers to his laptop keyboard and took a deep breath.

Dear Lily,

First, thank you for all your support of my books. I do get the thank you emails you send and see that you promote my books as well.

I talked to my editor and he thinks it’s worth talking to my publisher. His exact words were, “She makes some good points.” So we’ll see what happens. I’m flattered that you think I have the fan base to support public events.

I hope you have a wonderful Saturday and thank you again.

F.J. Pearson

James read the email twice more before he closed his eyes and hit send. He shut down his laptop immediately, not ready to see if she would email him back or not.

Then his phone chimed with a text.

Lily: He emailed me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crap.

He’d officially trapped himself between himself and Lily.

James stuck his hand in his hair and looked down at the message despairingly.

What was he supposed to do now?

His phone chimed again as a screenshot appeared with the email he'd just sent staring back at him.

Lily: See!!!!!

James smiled in spite of the panic that was bubbling just under the surface. Lily had that effect on him.

James: I never doubted your skills.

He fell onto his bed and watched Lily's typing bubble.

Lily: Want to come scout out location possibilities with me tonight? I don't want to respond until I can give some good ideas for where he could do a signing.

James' heart pounded in his ears.

Every bone in his body screamed yes, he absolutely wanted to go with her. But the guilt he felt kept begging him to say no, to not subject himself to the turmoil that being with Lily while he was actively trying to figure out how to tell her the truth was sure to cause.

But it wasn't begging quite loud enough.

James: I'd love to

Lily: Great! See you at mine at 6?

James: Can't wait ;)

He tossed his phone on the bed next to him and shoved his glasses up his face to rub his eyes.

It wasn't so bad, James tried to reason with himself. He could get Lily's opinion and see the options for himself and have some solid feedback for his publisher when they planned his signing.

If he did a signing…

Crap.

James hated it when Sirius was right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James was anxious for the rest of the day, going so far as to consider telling Lily that evening he was F. J. Pearson, though he felt like he needed a better plan than confessing it on her doorstep.

That plan didn't materialize in his brain before six rolled around.

"James!" Lily opened her door. "Can you believe he emailed me back?!"

James laughed and leant against the wall. "Of course, I can. You're brilliant, anyone who can't see that after two seconds of interaction with you is an idiot."

"Why thank you, Potter," Lily chuckled as she closed and locked her door. "I didn't get a chance to eat after I got home. Feel like grabbing something before we go scout out where our favorite author should reserve for his book signing?"

So he was her favorite author.

That thought had James floating for a brief moment.

"James?"

Right, she'd asked him a question.

"Sure, I'm always up for dinner with a beautiful woman."

"Flatterer," Lily rolled her eyes and moved down the stairs, James quickly following after her.

Lily drove them to a Greek restaurant that left James wondering if Greek food would be as easy for him to cook as Indian food and if he could possibly have Lily with him for every meal. She was the source of a lot of his anxiety but in a strange paradox, her presence was soothing his nerves.

It was moments like these, sitting across from her at a restaurant as she chatted about work, about her parents' latest pensioner adventure, and as she teased him for being a rich kid as he paid for their dinner; these moments that made him want this every day, her there with him.

But he knew it wouldn't, couldn't happen. Not until she knew who he was. Not until he stopped hiding something so massive from her.

"Where's our first location then?" James asked as Lily drove them away from the restaurant.

"First I thought we'd look at Flourish and Blotts since they're a big name. Then I want to see if Tomes and Scrolls looks viable. They're smaller but cozier too."

"I like Tomes and Scrolls." James nodded. "Their staff are nicer too, more helpful."

"Exactly." Lily nodded as she turned into the parking lot for Flourish and Blotts. "I'm sure that F. J. Pearson has been to both of these seeing as he lives somewhere in this city, but I thought he'd like a reader's perspective."

James swallowed as his guilt started bubbling near the surface for the millionth time that evening.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate that."

Flourish and Blotts had all the space in the world, but James was put off by the lack of personality the store had. Every Flourish and Blotts location looked just like this one. Every Flourish and Blotts had stuffy salespeople that were offended if you dared to ask them a question. Every Flourish and Blotts smelled like stale coffee and cardboard boxes. Every Flourish and Blotts felt like a charade.

This was not where he wanted his readers. He'd probably end up in the news as the author that chewed out the staff for being rude to a guest.

"I don't like," he said absently as they walked through the store and Lily took notes on her phone.

"What?" Lily looked up at him but James was frowning at the aisles of toys, still caught up in his dislike of the store.

"This isn't what the readers want. I bet they'd actually kick us out if we went over our allotted time. Could you imagine the news stories? And tonight we cover an author who shouted at bookstore associates ." James spun around to head back to the car. "This won't work. Let's go."

"Hold on." Lily snagged his arm and pulled him back. "You think F. J. Pearson would have a shouting match with the associates?"

Her words brought James back to reality and he shoved his hand in his hair.

"I, er, I meant that he'd probably find all of this pretentious." James gestured with the hand that hadn't snuck to his hair. "And, I, er, well, he writes Ravi as the kind of bloke that isn't afraid to put pretentious people in their place… So maybe…?"

Lily burst out laughing.

"I never thought of it, but now the image of F. J. Person channeling Ravi and chewing out these associates might be one of my favorite mental images."

James breathed out in a rush of relief.

"So Tomes and Scrolls?" He made a conscious effort to shove both hands in his pockets.

"Yeah." Lily pulled her keys from her purse. "I figured that would be the best place anyway. I guess we could look at the library as well but I honestly think it better to do this where people can buy his book and not fight over the ten copies the library will get."

James laughed. "Our library has that many copies?"

"Only." Lily shook her head as she unlocked her car. "There are twenty-five copies each of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books and only ten of F. J. Pearson's books. It's criminal."

"Tolkien was a genius, Evans." James jumped to defend one of his favorite authors.

"And F. J. Pearson is just as good, in my opinion." Lily slipped into her seat and left James gawking over the top of the car.

"Did I break you, Potter?" Lily rolled down the passenger window and smirked at him.

James shook himself, trying to get some level of control over his brain. Lily thought he was just as good as Tolkien. Had he died? He pinched himself. Nope, not dead.

Holy crap.

"Yep." He figured honesty was just as good as any response. She had rattled him and he was trying not to faint dead away. "I'm coming to terms with this newfound information about you and your biased opinions." He slipped into the car.

"How on earth is it biased for me to like Pearson more than Tolkien?" Lily's head tipped back and she laughed.

James felt his throat constrict in panic. He didn’t have an answer that he could actually give her without telling her who F. J. Pearson was.

“Er…” He looked around as Lily drove them towards Tomes and Scrolls and spotted an ice cream parlor. “Oh, hey, want to get Fortescue’s after we finish up at Tomes and Scrolls?”

Lily bit her lip and glanced over at him.

“I’d like that.”

For a moment, James forgot why he’d been panicking.

“Me too.”

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Lily pulled her laptop out of her bag and pushed the power button as she hummed happily to herself.

It hadn’t really been a date, but it had been a wonderful...not-date.

Whatever. Time with James was always something that Lily looked forward to. Maybe someday she’d be brave enough to risk their friendship and ask him on a date. The time they spent together was nearly dating anyway, but it lacked some of the perks that dating usually entailed.

Kissing for instance…

Lily shook the thought of kissing James away and sat down at her computer with her drink.  She needed to get a grip. She had an email to write.

F. J. Pearson probably wasn’t awaiting her email with bated breath, he didn’t even know she was sending it, but Lily wanted to get it out while the experience, and James’ comments, were fresh in her mind. And so she opened her email and set to it.

Dear F. J. Pearson,

I went with my friend I mentioned before, James, to look at a few locations that might work for the event and while Flourish and Blotts had plenty of space, James worried that their high and mighty attitudes might push you to channel Ravi and get into a shouting match with the employees. In the end, we both agree that Tomes and Scrolls would be the ideal place. It could end up with a queue outside the store, but James and I agree that it’s more in line with your fanbase.

I’m attaching some of the pictures I took that show where you could set up and maybe do a reading. I really hope your publisher agrees and public events can become a part of every book release you do. I know James and I wouldn’t be the only fans to block out our calendars for it.

Kind regards,

Lily Evans

There, that sounded normal enough. Lily didn’t want to come off as a stalker to F. J. Pearson, but she also didn’t understand why this author was so insistent on being hidden. His books were bestsellers, he had a solid fandom, there was even fanfiction for Ravi and Sarah for heaven’s sake. He was big. So why hide?

She hit send and then looked at her phone. It was only ten, she could text James and tell him she already emailed Pearson; maybe she could tease him about how she’d included one of the pictures that had James in it. That might buy her an hour or so of conversation with him…

Lily shoved her phone in her pocket.

What was she? Thirteen?

She needed to go to bed, and hope that she didn’t dream about Mister tall, dark, and sexy on the other side of her wall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took her two days to manage to reconnect with James. He must have been busy because he didn't come out on the balcony any of the times she went out to water her plants. She finally saw him when they happened to be coming home at the same time. Well, roughly the same time. She didn't really run to catch up to James, but she privately admitted to stepping lively to reach him before he walked into their building.

"Potter." She tapped him on the shoulder. "Fancy meeting you here."

James gave her a brilliant smile as his hand found his hair. He always seemed annoyed when he caught himself doing it, but Lily found it endearing. She had to grip her purse strap to keep the urge to also tangle her hands amongst the soft-looking strands under control.

"Alright, Evans?" He held the door open invitingly.

"Fine, and yourself?"

James' hand brushed the small of her back as he followed her in before dropping back to his side. Her back buzzed with electricity and she resisted the urge to step back into him.

"Good, what are you up to this evening?"

"Just dinner." James followed her up the stairs, the hand that had brushed her back now firmly back gripping his hair.

Was it a nervous habit? Did she make him nervous? Heaven knew he gave her butterflies, maybe she gave them to him too?

Focus, Lily.

"We have that in common, then."

Lily cringed. Could she manage to be any lamer?

James laughed, "We're a right pair, Evans, nothing but dinner to occupy us on a weeknight."

Lily laughed too, trying to figure out if there was any way for their conversation to continue as they approached their respective doors.

"Hey, Lils." James stopped them at the landing. "I was hoping I could talk to you about something."

Lily felt her heart beating in her ears. "Sure."

James tugged a tangled curl of hair and looked down at his shoes as he let out a long breath.

"Well, you see, er, we both like F. J. Pearson's books-"

"Oh!" Lily suddenly saw her chance to keep them talking. "I sent that email! Pearson hasn't emailed me back yet though."

James looked at her like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Then he laughed, a shaky sound compared to the deep laugh he usually had for her.

"What a tosser."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he's just waiting to hear back from his publisher. I sent him the pictures I took.”

"Brilliant." James' eyes fixated back on his shoes. "I'm sure he'll get back to you. Only an idiot wouldn't."

Lily bit her lip as her stomach fluttered at his words.

"He's probably busy."

James responded with a non-committal grunt.

Silence fell between them again and Lily felt the happy flutters in her stomach start to shift into an awkward clinch.

"Well," Lily looked toward her door, "I guess-"

"Would you like to come to mine for dinner?" James blurted out.

Lily felt her heart stop dead in her chest. She glanced back at James, who was playing with his hair again.

"It's, well it won't be anything fancy, but, if, if you weren't looking forward to making yourself something-"

"Yes," Lily cut him off before he could change his mind. "I'd love to join you. Can I bring anything? I've a freezer stocked full of ice cream." She frowned. "No chocolate though; your heathen taste in ice cream isn't accounted for in my selections."

"I'm wounded." James threw both hands over his heart. "You mean to tell me you don't keep an emergency supply of chocolate-chocolate chunk ice cream on hand for me?"

Lily rolled her eyes but bit her lip to try and mediate the smile that she felt blossom across her face. "You'll have to make do with cherry vanilla, pistachio, or chocolate chip cookie dough."

"I suppose I'll live with the chocolate chips in your chocolate chip cookie dough then." His hands fell. "But I warn you, I have no self-control when it comes to ice cream, hence there is never any in my flat."

"I'll only bring what I'm prepared to part with then." Lily let her smile shine through. "I'll just drop my things off and then be right over."

"Brilliant. Great." James dropped his keys and quickly stooped to pick them up, jingling them around in his hand as he stood. "I'll just, er, I'll just get things started. Don't worry about knocking. I don't want to keep you waiting if I'm at the stove."

"Alright." Lily pulled her keys from her bag, hoping she didn't look overly eager. "I'll only be a moment."

"Right." James turned his body to his own door while he still looked at her. Lily heard his key knock around a few times before she heard it slide into the lock. "Right, I'll see you in a moment then."

Lily nodded, not sure how to exit this conversation gracefully. She chose simply not to attempt it at all and stepped into her flat and shut the door.

Then she let the low-level panic and high-level excitement course through her veins as she bit her lip and bounced up and down.

She was having dinner with James.

Dinner with James, in his flat.

James asked her to have dinner with him in his flat.

"Breathe," she reprimanded herself. "Don't dawdle. Move."

Within five minutes, Lily had brushed her hair, changed her shirt, collected the ice cream, and was slowly opening James' door.

“James?”

“In here” He stuck his head out from the kitchen. “Make yourself at home, Evans.”

Lily adjusted her grip on the ice cream cartons in her hands as she moved towards James and the spicy smells coming from his kitchen.

“Am I good to just put these in the freezer?” She gestured toward the refrigerator.

James set down the wooden spoon in his hand and reached for the cartons.

“Here, let me.” His fingers were strong as they wrapped around her hands and held them for just a second longer than necessary before slipping the ice cream from her hands.

Lily forgot to lower her arms as he set them in the freezer.

“Have you ever had rogan josh?” James asked her as he closed the freezer door. “My mum dropped off enough to feed an army on Sunday and I’m trying to get through it all.”

“Nope.” Lily came to stand next to James as he stirred the red stew in the pot. “But it smells amazing.”

James beamed at her. “It is. Mum does it better than anyone I know. It’s basically a spicy lamb stew. I’ve got some plain yogurt if you need to cool it down. I don’t expect you to eat it as hot as my mum makes it.”

“I think I’ll be alright.” Lily smiled. “My dad loves Thai and always asks for it as hot as they’ll make it for him.”

“Well, don’t kill yourself, alright?” James bumped her shoulder with his and gave her a soft smile. “You’ve got nothing to prove to me.”

Lily felt her heart try to flutter out of her chest.

Maybe he was starting to see her the way she saw him. Maybe tonight would be the night she tried to move things out of friends and into something more…

When that sat down for dinner, Lily had to admit that James was right, she did need the extra yogurt, but she still loved his mum's dish.

“I might have to meet your mum,” Lily sighed after her second bowl. “My ice cream in your freezer is the only reason I’m not having thirds.”

James picked up her bowl with a laugh. “She’ll be thrilled to hear it.”

James turned to face her, leaning against the sink counter behind him, and cleared his throat. “Would you like to sit on the sofa while we have ice cream? It’s a fair bit more comfortable than my dining chairs.”

“Sure.” Lily couldn’t help the beaming smile she gave him.

She followed James to his sofa, trying to ignore the sudden wave of shyness she felt as she opened the cherry vanilla ice cream pint in her hand.

“So.” James smiled at her, sitting far enough away on the sofa that he could face her.

Lily giggled around the bite of ice cream in her mouth. “So.”

“Thank you for having dinner with me, if you want to take some of the rogan josh home, I’m happy to share. I might actually manage to get it all eaten before it’s too old with your help.” James dug into his chocolate chip cookie dough.

“I will not argue with taking some of it off your hands,” Lily smirked. “Maybe your mum would be willing to bring me my own batch.”

James’ laugh was loud and his face contorted as he tried to keep the bite of ice cream in his mouth. “Trust me, what she brings just to me is plenty for the two of us.”

“Does she bring food to Sirius too?”

“Oh yes, usually more than she brings me. She knows I can make a lot of it myself, she’s been teaching me since I was about seven.”

“Does Sirius not cook?” Lily took another bite and sighed happily.

James cleared his throat and had another mouthful of his ice cream.

“Sirius cooks well, but he likes to experiment and change things, and Mum thinks it’s hedonistic or something. So obviously, if she brings him heaps of food, he won’t cook her recipes and ruin them.”

“Why does she bring you food then?” Lily smirked. “Do you ruin her recipes too?”

James rolled his eyes. “No, she uses it as an excuse to come see me.”

“Why does she need an excuse?”

James coughed and his cheeks reddened. “She’s just being my mum.”

Lily grinned, sure there was more James wasn’t telling her.

“If I ever meet your mum, I’ll be sure to ask what her motives are in bringing you food.”

James gave her a soft smile, his spoon halfway to his mouth. “Alright.”

Lily felt her whole body react to that soft smile, full of far more than friendly affection. He smiled at her like the thought of her meeting his mum had put him in the clouds.

She cleared her throat and took another spoonful.

“How’s your ice cream?”

Lily looked up at James and couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s lovely. How’s yours?”

“Not chocolate,” James smirked at her.

“You’re welcome to buy your own.”

“We’ve talked about this.” James reached over and poked her arm. “I have zero self-control when it comes to ice cream. If I bought chocolate it wouldn’t make it fifteen minutes in my freezer.”

“That would be a shame.” Lily gave him a playful shove and leant into the sparks that flew up her arm from having a bit more physical contact with James. “Although a slight rounder version of yourself wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”

James made a sound that came somewhere from his chest and pushed forward; holding his pint off to the side as his free hand connected with her waist and tickled.

“Hey!” Lily laughed and leant into James’ touch, sliding her ice cream onto the coffee table as she threw both hands into tickling him back.

James’ other hand connected with her wrist and held it away from his underarms. His hazel eyes were alive with laughter and sheer happiness and Lily’s heart filled to bursting.

His fingers stilled suddenly and Lily watched his eyes drop to her lips. She held her breath. Wondering. Hoping.

She moved forward, just a fraction, hoping beyond hope that he’d meet her halfway.

James moved closer, mingling their breaths.

“Lily.” He said her name with a gruff breathless sound and his eyes dropped to her lips again with a heat that made her heart beat in her throat.

“Ja-”

Lily jumped as James’ phone began ringing loudly on the coffee table.

He swore, looking back and forth between her and his phone.

“Go ahead, it must be important.” Lily tried to put a good front on and keep the disappointment from her voice.

James looked at her with what Lily could only call longing in his eyes before pulling away from her entirely.

He frowned at the screen and sighed. “I’ll take this in my bedroom. I’ll be right back.”

Lily watched him disappear down the corridor and blinked.

James had every right to take the call in his room, but she had to admit a part of her hoped he would just silence his phone and ravish her.

Maybe she hadn’t seen the heat in his gaze. Maybe she’d imagined it all. Maybe she’d wanted it so much that she’d nearly made a fool of herself and kissed him.

She was an idiot, and she should count herself lucky that some higher power had just stopped her from doing something that could have ruined her friendship with James for good.

Lily picked up her ice cream and put the lid back on the pint with a sigh. She wasn’t hungry anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lily looked at her email and felt a tingle of giddiness.

J. Pearson had responded.

He was doing a reading and a signing! At Tomes and Scrolls!

Lily had woke up still feeling put out by how nothing had happened between her and James the night before, but this email helped her to push that frustration aside for a few minutes.

She was so excited!

She had to tell James!

And then she stopped short.

They’d ended things the night before in what Lily could only call an intensely awkward moment.

James' hand had been planted firmly in his hair and his other hand had gripped his phone when he'd remerged. He'd commented on how late it was, how they both had work in the morning, and that he had a few things his employer needed him to do before he could turn in.

Lily had gawked at him and then managed to mumble her agreement and apologies for staying so late before grabbing her ice cream and fleeing to her flat.

Not the sort of parting that left Lily feeling like he had wanted to kiss her, or instilled confidence in her current desire to text him.

She reread the email and gritted her teeth. Lily needed to show James they were friends, that she was on the same page as he obviously was in regards to their almost kiss; what better way than to push all the awkwardness and hurt that she felt away by texting him with something they could both geek out about?

Before she could change her mind, Lily took a screenshot of the email and texted it to James with a GIF of a teddy bear running in circles with a big smile and confetti falling around it.

He responded within thirty seconds with a happy dance GIF.

Good, he was at least communicating with her.

Lily: Thanks again for dinner last night.

She held her breath as James’ typing bubble popped up on her screen.

James: Anytime. I appreciated the company

Lily bit her lip, wondering if she should give in to the desire to ask him if he’d ever like to come to hers for dinner, but then her “get up now or you’ll be late for work” alarm sounded and Lily settled for texting James that she too appreciated the company and let it go at that. Hoping that now they’d be able to go back to the friendship they had before.

But things were still weird.

Five days later, Lily was at her wit’s end. She was positive that James was doing more than just ignoring her, he was actively avoiding her. And Saturday morning she decided she couldn’t take it.

After a quick email to F. J. Pearson telling him how excited she was that he was doing a reading and signing - she’d been so focused on James ignoring her she’d forgotten to respond to Pearson - Lily went to her balcony to water her flowers and give James one more chance before she threw everything on the line.

If James was going to avoid her and stop their friendship, even when she was doing everything to show him she could keep things as friends, then Lily reasoned she might as well give him a valid reason to do so.

She emptied the watering can and looked at James’ empty balcony.

This was ridiculous.

The least he could have done was tell her that the almost kiss had been too much and he was through being her friend.

Why was he being so difficult?

A considerate person would tell her.

The James she thought she knew would tell her!

Where was the man she’d grown to trust? The man she was realizing she counted on as more than just her neighbor?!

In a rush of frustration, Lily tossed her watering can at James’ balcony door.

One second too late she realized what she was doing, but thankfully, the plastic container missed the door and skidded across the decking instead.

Alright, obviously it was time to have a conversation with James.

Just as soon as she retrieved her watering can.

She left her flat and after taking a few deep breaths she knocked on James’ door.

James opened a moment later, his phone held to his chest, and smiled at her.

“Hey, Lils.”

Lily felt some of her frustration fading under the warm hazel of his stare. “Hi, sorry, but I’ve, well I’ve dropped my watering can on your balcony.”

James chuckled, glancing at the phone pressed firmly against his chest. “You’re welcome to grab it. I need to finish up here.”

“Thanks, I’ll just be a moment.” Lily bared her teeth in a poor imitation of a smile as he let her into his flat.

“Lils,” James called after her as she walked toward his bedroom. Lily turned to see him looking at her with that same heated look he’d had the night they’d almost kissed. “Can you stick around for a bit? I’d like to chat once I’ve wrapped things up.”

Lily bit her lip but nodded. “Sure thing.”

His returning smile had her dipping her chin as she bit her lip. Maybe things weren’t as bad off as she thought they were between them. Maybe she was imagining him being distant. Maybe he just needed some space to see her the way she saw him.

She stepped into his room and smiled as she looked around. James’ bedroom was clean, but not quite tidy. His desk, right next to the sliding door to his balcony, had his laptop open, his inbox still on the screen, and dozens of papers around the machine. She bet that all the problems he was putting into the next physics textbook were worked out on those pages. Smiling, she moved to look at the pages, thinking she’d tease him about them when he finished his call.

But she stopped in her tracks when she got close enough to the laptop screen to see her name.

Lily stared at the laptop, the email she wrote to F. J. Pearson not fifteen minutes ago looking back at her.

“Did you find it alright, Evans?”

James appeared at his bedroom door and froze.

He swore.

“How?” Lily turned to look at him as she pointed at the screen, her watering can long forgotten.

James’ hand was shoved in his hair and his eyes were wide with panic.

“Lily, I can explain.”

“That you’re hacking F. J. Pearson’s emails?”

“Lily,” James’ other hand moved to his hair. “I- I'm sorry. I should- I should have told you ages ago, but I- I'm F. J. Pearson. I’m the author of the Grandville Mysteries. F. J. Pearson is- it's my pen name. I’m sorry!"

Lily gawked at him, opening her mouth and closing it again and again, no sound emerging for several moments. Her mind spun. She couldn’t pull a full breath if her life depended on it.

"You're, you’re F. J. Pearson?" The words tasted metallic on her tongue.

She watched James' Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"Surprise?"

Lily blinked as anger and embarrassment pumped through her veins.

“Has this been some sort of joke for you?”

“What? No! Lily-”

“A great laugh this must have been,” Lily crossed her arms, feeling the heat of her embarrassment in her cheeks as it squeezed her chest. “I thought we were friends, James.”

“We are!”

Lily ignored the desperation she heard in James’ voice. “Really?” Lily gave him a humorless laugh in an attempt to push down the tears that were pushing on the back of her eyes. “Because this really doesn’t feel like something a friend would do. Lying to me? For almost a year? I bet you don't even write textbooks!”

“Lily, you don’t understand-”

“I think I understand plenty.” Lily stormed past him, ignoring the pain in his face and heading for the door. “I hope your signing goes well, Mr. Pearson.”

“Lily!” James grabbed her hand but dropped it when she turned to glare at him. “Please! Please, let me explain!”

“What is there to explain? That I’m a moron? You’ve been lying to me for nearly a year James! You led me to believe that you were another reader! You conveniently failed to mention you were the author!” Lily angrily swallowed down the tears that threatened to push through. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. He’d demeaned her enough already. “Just leave me alone, James!” Her voice cracked and Lily spun, running for home.

She could hear James chasing after her but she slammed his door before locking her own and ignoring his pleas as she threw herself onto her bed and gave in to the tears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lily was pretty sure her heart had been run through a meat grinder.

How could James have been so cruel?

How could she have missed it? Looking back it was so obvious that James was F. J. Pearson. The way he defended the plots and the way he knew the characters inside and out left Lily feeling like an idiot.

She’d been blind.

She felt used.

She felt betrayed.

And she never wanted to see James or read another F. J. Pearson book again.

If she didn’t still have six months left in her lease she would have been looking for a new place to live.

James had called, texted, and knocked on her door multiple times, including leaving her watering can on her front mat. But Lily had taken a page out of his book and was actively avoiding him.

It was going swimmingly until she heard a knock a few days later, yet when she looked through the spyhole, saw no one.

Like a fool, she opened the door.

“Hello, Lily.” Sirius Black stood to the side of the frame with his back against the wall.

“Bye, Sirius.” Lily turned away but Sirius blocked her path.

"I have a gift and some things I need to say."

Lily frowned at the little cardboard box in Sirius' hands.

"I'm busy, Sirius, come back later."

"This will only take a minute, Evans." Sirius smiled his stupid perfect model smile at her. "We can stay out here or you can be polite and invite me in."

"Polite would have involved you calling first."

"I don't have your number, Evans." Sirius rested his free arm against her door frame. "And given the circumstances, I don't think James would be too keen on giving it to me."

Lily felt her face flare. "If you're here for him-"

"Honestly, Lily, just bloody let me in and I'll be off before the kettle's ready." Sirius interrupted her.

His tone surprised her. Lily would have thought Sirius would be frustrated, but his tone was one of pleading more than aggravation.

"Alright," she huffed and let him in.

Sirius made a bee-line for her little kitchen table and sat down, as though he feared she would change her mind and try to throw him out. She tried to not let her amusement show and moved to sit across from him.

"Go ahead, make your case for James." She slumped forward. It stung like a wasp sting on her heart knowing she'd been a joke to him, that all their moments together had been nothing but some twisted game.

They'd felt so real to her.

"Lily, you and I are the only people who know James is F. J. Pearson."

"Sirius, please," Lily shook her head, "I wasn't born yesterday. James is a best-selling author with a following big enough that sooner or later he'll attract Hollywood."

"All true, yes," Sirius waved her off, "but Lily, our own parents don't know that James is a novelist! Remus and Peter don't know! No one knows! Just me, because I'm his agent and editor, and you because he's so wrapped up in how much he loves you he bloody well stops thinking!"

Lily felt her heart skip a beat and she looked up at Sirius. He gripped the little cardboard box in his hands and his eyes locked with hers, pleading for her to believe him.

"Why?"

Sirius' lips twitched up at the ends. "Why does he love you? I could wax poetic if you'd like, but that would ruin my reputation."

Lily felt her face grow hot. "No! I mean why doesn't he tell anyone?"

Sirius hung his head. "Because of me."

Lily blinked, "What?"

Sirius took a deep breath. "Our parents own the company Sleekeazy."

Lily nodded. "Right, James has mentioned that."

"And I'm sure he hasn't mentioned when I caused them the lawsuit of a lifetime."

She gawked at him but Sirius continued.

"When we were kids, I decided to play a prank on a kid in school who was awful to a lot of people. I felt justified picking on him because he picked on other people." Sirius rubbed his temples. "I called him a greasy git because his hair was always so oily from not being cleaned. My idea was to mix some of the Sleekeazy products together and then dump them on his head. But they didn't slide right out of the bucket I was using so I thought that it was a good idea to mix in some solvent." Sirius looked back down at the table. "I chose ammonia, thinking it would add to the humor of him being greasy since ammonia is often used to remove grease."

Lily grimaced. "I'm guessing this doesn't end well."

"The chemical reaction was not a good one. It damaged his hair and rashed his skin." Sirius' chuckle was bitter. "He and his mum sued the company. They settled out of court for a ridiculous amount of money. Would have been worse if not for James. He realized at the last second that the amount of ammonia I used was going to be catastrophically bad and came running with a hose and sprayed him down before it could do significant damage."

Sirius shook himself as if trying to shake off a bad dream. "But, my stupidity made James gun-shy. The news had a field day, painting our parents as corporate monsters out to hurt consumers, specifically children. They dragged me through the mud. Called James' act too little conscience too late. The whole thing was awful. And James has spent every moment from then forward being careful not to do anything that might create bad press for his parents. Why do you think he writes Physics Textbooks? It's safe and quiet and keeps the news away from Dad's company."

Lily looked down at the table, running her finger over the scratches in the Formica top. "So no one knows?"

"No one but me, and now you." Sirius pushed the box to her. "He wrote this one for you. You're everywhere in it."

"Book six?" Lily gingerly touched the box.

Sirius nodded and then stood. "Check the dedication. I'll sneak out before James realizes I'm here."

Lily didn't watch him leave.

She barely heard the door.

Her heart was beating in her ears as her fingers rested on the plain cardboard box.

F. J. Pearson's latest book was in this box.

James' book was in this box.

Days before the release date.

An advanced copy of a book she might have killed for not one week ago sat in this box, right here on her table.

And Lily wasn't sure what she wanted to do.

A small part of her wanted to throw it in the bin and never look at it again.

But a larger part of her, the part that wished for things to be different between her and James, back to how they'd been before, that part wanted to rip the box to shreds and see if Sirius was right.

Sirius thought James loved her.

And after everything Sirius told her, Lily was questioning her initial reaction that she’d been a game to James.

The larger part won as Lily slowly pulled off the lid and looked down at the newest installment of the Grandville Mysteries.

She opened the cover and looked down at the dedication.

Love is like you. Thank you.

And then she turned the next page and it was like coming home.

For as mixed up as she felt about James, the Grandville Mysteries always felt like home.

Somewhere while reading she’d stood and moved to the couch. Somewhere while reading she’d forgotten all about what James had done. Somewhere while reading she had lost herself in the story.

When Lily surfaced from the final page it was two in the morning.

She looked at the book as it sat in her lap, already feeling the familiar “hangover” that James’ books always gave her.

James’ books.

James’ books.

Lily sighed.

She owed him the chance to apologize to her without her running away.

He’d been an idiot, but she hadn’t given him a chance to make it right either.

And for that, she was sorry.

She looked at her phone. The signing was just three days away. It felt a little dramatic, but Lily needed a couple of days to figure out what she wanted to say, and she hoped that the public venue would keep both of them from being overly dramatic.

Lily picked up the book in her lap. She’d fix everything at his signing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was insane.

This felt insane.

What was she thinking?

She should go home. Wait until James got back and have this discussion in the privacy of one of their flats.

But she was already here, looking in the window of Tomes and Scrolls as James and Sirius and one of the staff members finished laying everything out.

“No time like the present, Lily,” she chided herself quietly. “Stop watching him and go talk to him.”

Lily steeled herself and pushed open the door.

James stood near the tables set up for his signing, his hand in his dark hair as he looked around him. Lily was sure he was mentally checking off everything he'd muttered about when she'd been here with him a few weeks ago.

He turned and stopped dead when he spotted her.

"Lily."

Her name on his lips sounded weary and cautious; so different from the way he'd said it before she learned his secret.

"Hi, James." She bit her lip and took a half step forward. "Do you have a moment?"

James looked around like he might put her off but Sirius put his hand on his shoulder. "Thirty minutes till showtime. You're all set, Potter." Then he gave James a push towards Lily.

James glared back at Sirius as he crossed his arms. Sirius grinned and shoved him again. James didn't budge an inch as he sighed and turned back to Lily, putting on a smile as fake as she'd ever seen.

"What can I do for you, Evans?"

Guarded.

Lily hated seeing James guarded against her. But she knew that she deserved it as much as he deserved her initial freak out at him.

"I'm sorry."

The words slipped out and she quickly tried to follow them up.

"About all of this. I'm sorry I assumed that you were deliberately deceiving me. I'm sorry I blocked you out. I'm sorry I made myself miserable by cutting you out of my life. I'm sorry, James."

James blinked and his arms fell to his side. "Lily…"

"You don't owe me an explanation," Lily shook her head. "I just, I needed you to know that if I could go back, I would."

"Lils, stop." James stepped closer and Lily held her breath as he seemed to think through his words. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have lied to you for nearly a year. That was definitely me being an idiot."

"I understand now though. Sirius stopped by. He told me what I wouldn't let you say the other night."

James raised his eyebrows. "What exactly did he tell you?"

Lily bit her lip. "About the lawsuit. How it made you nervous about bad-press for Sleekeazy. And that's why only he knew you're F. J. Pearson. And I'm sorry it had to come from him for me to listen. I should have let you explain when I found my email on your laptop."

"I- I guess it's probably best he told you. I don't know if I would have told you all that." James' hand found his hair as he glanced over at Sirius, talking with an associate. "It doesn't really feel like my story to tell, you know?"

"Yeah." Lily felt her heart warm. "You've other stories to tell." She pulled his book from her bag. "He brought me this too. It's amazing. Your best one yet. I really loved it."

He rewarded her with a smile, a genuine smile that lacked the walls he'd thrown between them.

“Did you see the dedication?”

Lily nodded. “What did it mean? Love is like you?”

James’ cheeks turned red. “It’s your name. L I L Y, Love is like you. I didn’t know how to thank you because I hadn’t come clean, but I wanted to thank you, so I hid it. Like a secret message.” He dropped her gaze. “I just realized how stupid that sounds.”

“No.” Lily reached for his hand. “It’s sweet. Thank you.”

James looked back up at her. “No thank you! This book would be nothing without you.”

"Would you mind?” Lily stepped closer. “If I stayed for the signing?"

James blinked at her like he didn’t understand the question.

"F. J. Pearson is still my favorite author. If it doesn't bother you, I'd like to be here for his first public event."

"Really? After everything I did?"

"Are you alright with me being here? After everything I did?"

"Of- of course! I just, I didn't think-"

"James." Lily closed the little distance left between them and bit her lip as he fell silent. "Maybe we could start over?"

"Start over where, exactly?" His eyes fell to her lips and Lily bit down harder.

"Where I should have told you after we first started talking on our balconies that I really fancied you?"

His whole body shifted towards her and that blessed smirk finally found his lips again. "Nah, we should start over where I should have told you that I fancied you."

"When was that?" Lily rolled her eyes, trying to hide how she suddenly felt like there were butterflies in her stomach.

"The moment I saw you." James' hand reached out slowly and Lily leant into him, allowing his hand to fall on her waist. "But I don't know if it would play out like this if we did that."

"We could just pick up right here." Lily slid her hands up to rest against his chest and looked up at him, her heart beating so loud she was sure he could hear it.

"Right here seems like the best option." He ducked his head to rest his forehead against hers and smirked, "But I'm losing the willpower to not kiss you."

Lily's laugh came out a breathy chuckle. "If you kiss me I'm taking it as your forgiveness."

James' smirk grew. "Only if I can do the same when you kiss me back."

"Cocky aren't you?" Lily narrowed her gaze and tried to glare at him.

"Kiss already!" Sirius called from behind the tables.

Lily tried to turn her glare on Sirius, but gentle lips landed on hers and, suddenly, she couldn't have told you Sirius' last name, or even her own name, as she was finally, finally kissing one James Fleamont Potter.

She'd dreamt of this, imagined it, but nothing prepared her for the tenderness of it.

He pulled her into him, holding her close like he never wanted to be apart from her, his lips sliding, exploring, tasting, savoring her and each reaction she gave him. Lily's hands moved to his hair of their own accord, finally getting the chance to pull the strands through her own fingers as she basked in the warmth of James.

"This was a good place to start," she murmured as he slid kisses from her lips up to her ear.

"This is my favorite beginning." James kissed behind her ear before sliding back towards her lips.

Lily turned to catch his kiss when Sirius called out, again.

"Wrap it up, love birds! People are going to be showing up in the next fifteen minutes!"

James groaned before kissing her once more, slowly, holding her closer, like he just needed one more minute like this.

Lily knew she desperately needed far more than one extended minute.

"We should take our places," James sighed when he finally pulled back.

"Where should I sit?" Lily kept her fingers tangled in his hair for a few lingering seconds.

"Near me?"

"The front row then?" Lily smiled.

James chuckled, "I meant on the other side of the tables, next to me and Sirius."

"Really?" Lily tensed and James tightened his grip around her waist.

"Only if you want to." He kissed her forehead. "But since I wrote the book for you, it seems right that you be on my side of the table."

"I'd love to." Lily bit her lip and giggled at the butterflies in her stomach. "And could I buy you an ice cream after the signing?"

"Only if I can buy you dinner first." James pressed his lips to hers again.

"Sounds perfect." Lily tried to deepen the kiss but James was being pulled back by the awful, terrible, wonderful man he called brother.

"I know you'll hate me now but you'll hate me more later if the reviews of this event focus on your relationship instead of the book."

Lily laughed and James intertwined his fingers with hers.

"We'll lay off." He clasped Sirius on the shoulder. "Thank you."

"You've pulled me out of worse, least I could do." Sirius shrugged and gestured to the tables. "Now, let's get this show on the road."

Lily followed them to the seats, thanking Sirius when he gave her his seat and went to collect another.

"Nervous?" She squeezed James' hand.

"You know, I was, but one of my biggest fans told me that I have the fan base to pull this off, and I think I should probably trust her. I'm dating her after all."

Lily laughed and snuck another peck. "I'm thinking this girlfriend of yours is pretty smart."

James' eyes twinkled as he smiled down at her. "Brightest woman I know."

[spamela-hamderson]

For the prompt! “You’re jealous”

For you ao3 link

:::

Robert comes up with the plans. It’s been this way for as long as he can remember; he used to plan minor distractions outside of the house when he was younger, so he could get a few minutes alone to dismantle a beloved home appliance with his mind while everyone else was out searching for a missing flock.

He’d come down once the coast was clear, with his trusty notebook in hand (to track his progress) and Victoria’s old baby blanket tied around his neck (‘WizKid’ scrawled across it in blue paint; he’d still wanted to be a superhero then), and get to work.

The problem, as it has always been, is that Robert never was the best at executing said plans.

You see, the plan was always to dismantle the appliance, and then put it back together in its previous condition. But he never quite managed that. As it turned out, building a working machine was a lot harder than taking it apart. And by the time he remembered that, someone would catch on to Robert being the only one not with them and rush back into the house, too late, to find bits of metal strewn over the countertop and footsteps banging back up the stairs.

:::

He succeeded just once before having to leave home. Slapped the radio back into form, (sans make-shift cape; he’d long grown out of it by then) and apart from a mystifying minute of ticking every time you pressed play, it had worked fine.

A month after that, he would play a stupid game with his stupid brother, wouldn’t be able to save Max King and would be sent away for not being worthy of his powers.

:::

Aaron had been planned as well.

Well. Sort of.

Robert had made his debut into the criminal underworld with a series of small jobs that went without a hitch. But things got complicated once he’d set his sights on riskier targets. 

On his own, his powers and charm only got him so far. He needed someone who would watch his back. Someone who would help him finish what he set out to do.

What he needed, he thought, was his very own henchman.

The prospects had trickled through in stops and starts. Some, Robert worried were too stupid to keep up with him, and others, in their comic book villain ensemble and annoyingly peculiar affectations, were clearly too interested in a fantasy that Robert didn’t have the patience for. It was the exceedingly normal ones, however, who had unsettled Robert the most. 

(Sanity is an illusion in their line of work. The really messed up ones, the sort who carved into innocents for fun in their underground dens of torture, were also the ones who seamlessly weaved mundanity through their to-do-list of horrors: calling out a neighbourly hello through the kitchen window as they scrub blood from under their fingernails, taking a ten-minute break from their day job to look up large plastic tubs (big enough to fit an adult), and installing an entertainment system in said underground den of torture so they don’t have to miss strictly while laying out tools, scared whimpers harmonising with Gymnopédie No.1 and the cheers from the crowd.) 

When Aaron had slammed out of their first meeting with a glare more frightening than the rough scar running down the length of his face, his permanently bruised knuckles clenched tight in a blazing fist, and dislike lining every inch of him, none of it hidden away, Robert had been ready to try trusting him with his life.

By the end of his first day at work, Aaron had expressed plain doubt that Robert was a card-carrying member of the League of Nefariousness (Robert had threatened to show him the framed letter of acceptance, hung at pride of place on his office wall). By day three he’d slammed him into a wall, snarling into his face, and Robert had had to come to terms with the very confusing situation in his pants. It took till the end of day four, after too many hours of covert staring, to admit that he might have a problem. 

By his second week, when shit had hit the fan in the middle of what was meant to be a simple intelligence-gathering operation, and Aaron had taken charge, flipped the script, and saved his neck,—literally, from a very sharp knife—Robert realised he’d gone and found himself a partner instead of a henchman. 

There was no way Robert could’ve prepared for him.

And that brings him back to his current plan of action.

:::

Robbing the science facility while the gala is in full swing at the first floor of the building, instead of doing it days after that as they had originally planned, will mean they’ll be working on a tight schedule from now on, he decides. And he’ll have to make a list of other changes as well, taking into account all the extra pairs of eyes that’ll be scuttling around at an event of this scale, and the tighter security that’ll come with it. But it’s better this way, really; Robert’s always preferred performing to an audience anyway. And if he wants to get the message out, he needs everyone watching.

They’ll make their move late into the evening. Give the guests enough time to get bladdered, and the security complacent. It’ll work out, Robert decides.

Besides, he deserves a posh night out. It’s been months of clandestine weapons trades in grimy warehouse buildings and stopping for bad takeaway on the way back from rooftop shootouts, leaning heavy against Aaron under the guise of exhaustion. He wants an excuse to wear a suit and polish off flutes of champagne while he’s at it. 

But the upper crust only ever throws their parties—with diamonds dripping down necks and camera crews parked outside to greet them—for Heroes. Nevermind that they’re also the ones secretly bankrolling half the evil schemes in play across the city on any given day.

Robert wonders if Aaron will let himself be talked into wearing a suit. He knows he won’t do it just because he’s asked, and Robert can make up a reason, tell him it’s an essential part of the plan, but Aaron’s got quite the knack for sniffing out his bullshit. 

He sighs, feeling sorry for himself all over again, and watches a boxy suit jacket take form over his little digital doodle of Aaron running down the side of the updated plan on a loop, a mock-up of him on his way to empty out a heavily guarded vault, eleven floors below ground, where 35 grams of rare dryadrium is being stored; More than three times the amount Robert needs to finish building his killer robot prototype. But staring at doodle-Aaron’s over-serious eyebrows makes his chest too heavy to ignore, so he gives up and slumps back into his seat noisily, away from his tablet. 

He lasts about six seconds before sending the offending item flying off the table and into his palm, a new window already open (and sharing the screen with his list) to the paparazzi shot of Aaron and the Red Rider for him to glower down at. He’s never been one for self-restraint.

COFFEE DATE WITH MYSTERY LOVER!

Will the darling of justice Red Ride off into the sunset with his new bad-boy?

To the undiscerning eye, Robert supposes they might look undeniably involved. They’re stood so close it’s amazing the two disposable cups of coffee clutched between them haven’t spilt, the Red Rider’s hands are around Aaron’s upper arms like he’s pulling him in for a hug, and his smile might be described as teasing, by some (Robert just thinks it makes him look like a tit).

But Robert sees right through it. He recognises the street they’re pictured on as the one between the abandoned power station they work out of and the cafe closest to it. The article mentions they were spotted yesterday morning. Probably right after Aaron had picked up their usual order of one americano and one regular coffee with a splash of milk, same as he does on the days he comes in before ten.

While Red‘s got his meticulously focus-grouped smile in place, Aaron looks totally baffled by him (though the article tries to pass it off as starstruck). And why wouldn’t he be? That is a lot of red lycra to take in before you’ve had your morning coffee. 

So yes, Robert knows it’s stupid for him to be feeling so strongly about this photo when there’s clearly no truth behind what it’s saying. But he can’t help but find it extremely unfair that it’s the Red Rider who gets to be paired off with Aaron (even if it’s only in the eyes of bored commuters looking for a bit of morning gossip to get them through the day) when Robert’s the one wreaking glorious havoc across the city with him. 

Of course, it’s not like the public knows who Aaron is.

But still. Of all people. It had to be a Hero. Ugh.

Thus, the plan. And he can’t wait to see it play out, too. The darling of justice, dancing the night away at a gala held in his honour, while 1.7 million pounds worth of precious metal gets swiped from right under his nose. Robert sneers down at the crude stick figure of the Red Rider sketching itself into existence, tears shooting out of his eyes in black dashes of ink as his adoring crowd turns away in disgust. 

:::

He’s so busy trying to glare a hole into Red’s smiling face without accidentally blowing the tablet to bits, he almost misses the low hiss of the lab doors sliding open behind him. He blinks and the window closes, leaving him with only the details of the new plan to stare at, just as Aaron plunks his coffee in front of him. 

He also gets a tired nod, a non-verbal hi as Aaron makes his way around the table, and already Robert feels better about the day.

He manages a mumbled thanks back, somewhere between grabbing at the cup and tilting its contents onto his tongue. It’s too hot to drink comfortably still, even after having weathered the icy spring air on its way here. He leans his mouth against the lid of the cup instead and thinks about Aaron seeping warmth back through its walls with his hands. 

“You’re sure these are microwave safe, yeah?” he asks, eyes blinking wide in false innocence, but doesn’t hold back his chuckle at the devastating judgement he gets for it. He’d watched Aaron blow up his lunch once, food and cracked pieces of a bowl all over him and the floor, and hasn’t shut up about it since. 

“Right, I’ll leave you with cold coffee next time then, shall I?” Aaron says. His voice is still rough with morning disuse.

Robert puts his coffee back on the table so he can rest his chin on his palm and look up at Aaron. It brings him a little closer to him. “You wouldn’t. I’d moan on about it too much.”

“You’d be a nightmare,” he agrees, smiling behind his own cup. He’s just finished folding himself onto the only other chair in the lab in a way Robert can’t imagine to be comfortable, coffee cradled close to his chest, when he snaps his fingers. A small flame floats over his thumb. He slumps even further into his chair.

Aaron bears his power like a spare limb tucked away too tight and always too long, even if it’s only been minutes, never fully comfortable until he can stretch it out, feel it break apart from the perimeters of his skin and breath on its own. 

They watch it skip lazily across the back of his fingers and weave through them for a moment.

“Has Tate said what she wants from us?” Aaron asks.

Robert feels his stomach begin to sink. “That’s today?”

Aaron raises his eyebrows at him. “She’s sending her driver to pick us up at 10, Robert. Remember?”

Robert thunks his head against the table and groans. They don’t have the time for whatever Tate wants. At this rate, they’ll be stumbling through the job unprepared, and Red will come swooping in to save the day, and they’ll be the laughing stock of the city, another notch in Red’s shiny, crime-fighting belt, and Aaron will leave him for being a screw-up. 

Robert groans louder.

“Robert?”

He takes a second more to hide behind his arms, then pulls himself back up.

Aaron’s hand is half extended towards him, his flame extinguished and his eyes worried.

No. He wants this to work. He wants the world to see them together, see that they work. It might not be as Robert and Aaron, not to anyone else. Maybe not even to Aaron. But it’ll be close enough.

Robert leans back into his chair to pull his phone out from inside his trouser pocket. He can fix this.

“How about we cancel the meeting with Tate?” he says, but he’s already typing out a ‘Something’s come up, can’t do today’ to send to her.  

“You what?” Aaron laughs.

“You never liked her anyway.” Aaron had dragged his feet when they’d first taken a job for her. She’ll start thinking she owns us, he’d said.

But Robert had insisted. They’d needed the money, then.

Aaron puffs his cheeks out. “I’m not complaining, mate. But she’s not gonna like it.”

“Eh,” Robert shrugs it off. They finished their last job with her, clean and simple, and they haven’t agreed to anything new. There’s no reason for any business to be left hanging between them. 

“You gonna tell me why?” Aaron asks.

“We’ve got enough on our plate now.”

That gets a confused head tilt. “Do we?”

“About that. I was thinking–” he stops to roll his eyes at Aaron’s cheeky wince. “What if we broke into the facility on Saturday instead.”

The head tilt stays confused. “Before the gala?”

Robert shakes his head. “At the gala.”

Aaron huffs out an unsure laugh like he thinks Robert might be pulling his leg, then sobers when he sees he’s being serious.

“Why?” he wants to know. “Did something happen?”

“Nothing, I uh.” Right. A reason. “I thought about it, and it’s better this way.”

Aaron looks at him like he’s gone mad, which. Robert should’ve expected that, really. He takes a second to wonder why he hasn’t prepared a script for this.

“I don't…" Aaron squints at Robert like he’ll find an explanation on him somewhere if he looks hard enough. When that fails him, he searches blankly around the lab, perhaps looking for a clue to where he should even start.

Robert waits.

“This isn’t what we prepared for,” he lands on.

“It’ll be fine.” Robert will make sure of it. “I know the mechanics of the security set up around the vault like the back of my hand by now.” 

It’s a precise clockwork of systems designed by a Swedish company, and it’s kept Robert up for weeks trying to puzzle it out. 

Aaron nods his head slowly, like a man who’s had to endure long hours listening to Robert mumble to himself in increasing desperation in their shared office space.

“I’ll get you past it. Trust me.” 

Aaron nods more readily at that, and Robert’s heart finds a moment in all this to skip a beat. He urges himself to get a grip. 

“There’ll be more guards, yes, but the gala should keep them occupied for the most part. The new guards aren’t there to protect the dryadrium, Aaron. They’re there to keep the high profile guests safe.” 

Aaron still doesn’t seem convinced. “There’ll be cameras everywhere. Ministers, Heroes, tycoons, journalists… How’re we meant to get in? Or out, for that matter.”

It’s then that the idea hits him. Oh, he thinks. I’m a genius.

“We won’t seem out of place if we pretend we’re just another two names on the guest list…”

And here’s the tricky bit. All he has to do is be light-handed with the delivery. Just throw it out there, nothing to it.

“…We’ll fit right in in a couple of suits.”

Aaron barely gives him a second to hope. “Yeah, no, we’re not doin’ it on Saturday, then.”

“Wh–”

“I’m not wearing a suit, Robert. Not unless I’m stood in front of a judge.”

“But–” Robert tries not to panic. “But you have to.”

“And why is that?” Aaron leans back into his chair, comfortable as ever, and slips both hands into the front pocket of his hoodie. “You haven’t said.”

Robert’s been hoping he won’t notice. “Well,” he starts. “It’s like you said. There’ll be loads of cameras there. And reporters from major news networks. It’s time we introduced ourselves to the people. Officially. Don’t you think?” 

It’s time they learn you’re mine, he tries not to think. 

Because it’s not true, however much he wants it to be. He’s not… they’re not…

There’d been that one time, sure, that one kiss–

(Gold light filtered over his skin, cutting through the shadows of his face and making his scar dance. Robert had seen seasoned criminals give Aaron a wide berth, everything about him screaming: get any closer and lose your teeth. Right then, watching him watch flames rise up into the night from what was left of the hideout he’d just tossed a giant ball of fire into (killing, in the process, a jumped-up mobster who hadn’t known his place), soft was the only word that fit. 

The tension he’d accepted as a part of Aaron had bled out. His lips had fallen open around barely a hint of a smile, and his eyes… they were drooping down the sides a little, tired after a long fight but still lit up by the beauty of the destruction he wrought. 

Robert couldn’t look anywhere else. 

He saw his hand on Aaron’s cheek before he realised he’d put it there in the first place. The tips of his fingers reached past an ear and his thumb smoothed against the rough beard under it. There was no force behind the touch. He didn’t want to interrupt, he just… he wanted…

But Aaron had turned to him anyway. Unwaveringly steady, where Robert was starting to lose his grip. 

He’d caught Robert then, with his heart beating outside his chest, and his eyes had lowered to his lips, asking for more.

And Robert had gone to him.)

–but they don’t talk about it. 

Aaron watches him. “You’re up to something.” 

Aaron can prove fuck all. Robert’s always up to something. He’s the man with the plan. 

“It’s just… we’ve been doing this for half a year now. We’re good at it. We’re not common thugs, Aaron, we’re Supervillains. We’re going to snatch the world from them one day and they should at least get to know our names.”

Their names. Tethered to each other for the rest of their careers. Inferno and The Operator.

“No faces,” of course not,  “but our signature on the scene of the crime. For a real audience, this time.”

They’ve been trying it out, a network of gears scorched into the ground or up a wall, but the powers that be have been able to keep it out of the papers somehow, credit for their work—at least the ones they haven’t been able to hide from the people altogether—being sloppily assigned to gang disputes. “Let’s stick our names under it as well. They’ll have to take notice, “ he says, grin turning wild at the thought. 

He can tell Aaron’s starting to give in by the sulk settling in in his cheeks and around his mouth. “Don’t know why you had to wait till now to decide that,” he grumbles quietly, and then stops.

Robert allows himself a small smile at the victory. His tablet screen unlocks. 

Aaron’s on board, and he’d known that would be the toughest hurdle to get over, but they still do need a way to get on the final RSVP list. Robert starts another list for that. He wonders if Leyla will know anything. She’s had some experience organising events like these in the past, before she was found out to have swindled millions of pounds from investors and had to leave the country. Or maybe they could comb through the building plans again. See if there’s another way for them to sneak in–

“You saw the article,” he hears.

The digital ink stops its frenzied scrawl across the screen. Instead, it quivers in place, forming a nervous-looking black blob at the end of a half-written letter. “Hm? Oh! You mean the one from the tabloid?” he says to the blob. “Think I saw someone reading it on the train.” He could stop there. He should. But of course, he doesn’t. “You two make a cute couple.”

“You’re jealous,” Aaron accuses.

(So maybe they don’t talk about the kiss, but sometimes they do talk around it.)

Robert doesn’t flinch. He looks over at Aaron, schooling his face into the picture of incredulity. “Of you?” he scoffs. “What, you think I’ve been secretly pining after the Red Rider all this time?” Robert laughs, shaking his head at that. He knows he’s overdoing it, just a touch, but that’s kind of the point. 

It works. Aaron looks thrown off for a couple of beats, and then his face falls, before a carefully blank mask gets put up in its place. “What,” he says, mouth tight around the word.

Wait, no. “No, no, no, I’m not,” he rushes to assure Aaron, serious this time, and feels like he can breathe again once Aaron’s shoulders start to lower. 

He almost regrets correcting him so quickly, with the way Aaron’s back to squinting at him and making Robert want to run.

After painful several silent minutes of Robert avoiding his gaze in favour of animating an illustration of the pair of them cackling next to a mountain of stolen dryadrium (aesthetically more impressive than drawing them cackling next to a small, 35 gram pile, however accurate), he peeks up just in time to catch Aaron scratch at his brow and shake his head at the table between them like he can’t believe this is what his life has come to. Robert relates deeply. 

“It wasn’t–” Aaron gestures uselessly with his hand, turning pink in the face. 

Robert watches him struggle. “What?” he asks, around the grin on his face.

Aaron’s glare might be more effective if he isn’t still blushing hard. “He walked right into me outside the cafe, and then he wouldn’t stop,” more gestures at his face, which is pulled into a grimace, “smiling.” He says this the way only he would when confronted with a too-friendly, (allegedly) good looking superhero: with confusion and a healthy amount of dread. Robert tries not to smile. “You know how they lose their heads over ‘im.” He shrugs like Robert hasn’t been moping and plotting all morning over this.

He’s got a point, though. The tabloids were dead set on the Red Rider hiding a secret family in Spain only last month. Two weeks after that, they were speculating on wedding colours after a picture of him chatting with a cashier at the grocer’s started circulating. Why he felt the need to do his shopping in his hero suit is anyone’s guess. 

Also, Robert possibly spends too much time reading the tabloids.

Robert clears his throat. “I wasn’t thinking that.”

“Sure you weren’t.” 

He doesn’t know why Aaron’s smirking quite so much, because it’s true. He wasn’t. Robert knows Aaron can do miles better than that self-important twat.

“And you deciding to rob the facility during the gala has nothing to do with the Red Rider being there, yeah?”

“As if,” Robert says, verging on petulant. “This really is the best chance we’ve got of getting our names out,” he insists, which is also true. And that’s when another thought hits him. Oh, he thinks. You idiot.

Because what if being professionally tied to him is the last thing Aaron wants for himself? They’ll be sharing more than headlines. They’ll be sharing successes, failures, enemies. And even if (when an uncharitable voice in his head injects) Aaron decides one day that he’s had enough of dealing with him, the consequences of their partnership will stick with him. 

“We can wait, if,” Robert shrugs glumly, “this isn’t something you want.” He hopes he doesn’t sound too miserable. “If you think we’re going too fast, or–”

“I already agreed to it, you muppet,” Aaron informs him. “But if you’ve changed your mind again,” he rolls his eyes, smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, “guess it saves me having to buy a suit.” 

“I’ll buy you the suit.” Robert doesn’t need Aaron staring back at him in surprise to know how quickly he’d said that, and how embarrassingly low and rough his voice had gone then.

An eternity passes before Aaron finally mumbles out a “Sure, whatever,” at the table, his cheeks pinking again.

“Yeah,” Robert starts, eager to salvage some of his dignity. “Now that we’ve settled that, let’s go over some of the other details.” He lets his tablet float to the middle of the table and resolves to not look at Aaron, or his twitching lips, or his knowing looks, for the next 15 minutes at least. He has a plan to perfect.

[lulurayyan]

Exhaust Fan | LURITE | Best Prices in Qatar: Lulu Rayyan

Welcome to Lulu Rayyan Group W.L.L, Qatar’s premier destination for top-quality building materials. At Lulu Rayyan Group, we pride ourselves on offering the finest products to meet all your construction needs. Today, we’re thrilled to shine the spotlight on one of our standout offerings: LURITE exhaust fans.

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Compromise is not an option when it comes to ensuring appropriate ventilation in your areas. LURITE can help with it. LURITE, a well-known brand in the business, stands out for its dedication to excellence, innovation, and durability.

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[ohdnewjersey]

What are the Negative Effects of Summertime Heat on Improperly Prepared Loading Docks in New York?

The architectural structure of a warehouse is sealed with usually substandard exhaust equipment for ventilation. This is a regular structure foremost to protect the goods especially if you are managing a distribution center where most of your goods are perishable.

Most of the warehouses in New York utilize the Heat Ventilating and Airconditioning (HVAC) System to anticipate any type of temperature in line with the needs of the goods being stored. To this end, the management undertakes to facilitate the regular New York Dock inspection to identify the issues and perform the needed New York Dock repair and New York Dock replacement.

However, not all loading dock facilities have complete sets of equipment including the ventilation equipment. It is therefore a risky workplace during the summer season as the work condition of the workers will surely be put in danger.

What is the danger of Heat in Loading Docks?

When the temperature in the loading dock exceeds the regulated coldness or warmth, it will typically spoil the perishable goods to the disadvantage of the management. Apart from that, the high and low internal temperature may pose a danger to the health of the workers especially if a number of the workers have irregular blood pressures and other ailments that may be aggravated due to the hot internal temperature.

This may result in health issues such as but not limited to the following:

Workers may faint due to heat collapse. This transpires during the hot working condition due to the lack of circulating oxygen in the brain. Workers may suffer from heatstroke. This is deemed a very serious and critical health problem that may lead to death.

Workers may experience heat cramps. These cramps are experienced during the performance of hard labor where too much muscle exertion is being applied and profuse perspiration is experience and the workers failed to hydrate. In short, workers may suffer from hearing cramps due to the lack of salt in the body.

The signs of may vary but exposure to hot temperature may have the following signs:

increases your pulse rate,

strains the heart, and

in severe cases may cause a life-threatening heat stroke

What are the solutions to resolve this problem?

There are provisional and permanent solutions to the problem. Provisional solutions may include the conduct of proper and timely information and education campaigns to provide the correct information to the workers for the latter to get prepared.

Workers may wear appropriate T-shirts and bring along drinking water to somehow facilitate the body coolness and hydration.

On the other hand, a permanent solution may highly be recommended and that is to undertake the improvement of the warehouse structure and add important equipment for ventilation such as the installation of the industrial fans. Moreover, it may also be advised to utilize the energy-saving products to the facility.

Aside from that, it is likewise a wise action to undertake the New York Dock lock repair and New York Dock lock replacement to upgrade your dock system and the workers working conditions to a higher and safer level.

In cases of New York ripped dock seal, New York damaged dock shelter, and New York broken dock leveler, it is strongly recommended to undergo a New York replacement dock seal, shelter, and leveler.

That being said, it is therefore very vital to perform a New York dock maintenance not only to increase your facility’s productivity but also you considered the safety and security of your personnel to affect profitability.

Finally, the installation of the industrial fans is very important to facilitate ventilation like:

Serco ATEC HVLS Fans – It is designed to move a lot of air and much more.

Serco ATECT Fan – It has improved airflow and energy-saving features not to mention the powerful blade design that functions without stress to the building.

Kelly ATEC HVLS Fan – It moves to generate more air but this high-volume low-speed fan doesn’t do more than this.

C-class Commercial Fan – This fan is a completely customizable Entrematic C-Class commercial fan.

If you are in New York, it is highly recommended to avail of the services of Overhead Door Company of New Jersey, a division of DuraServ Corp. We have free and prompt access to the full array of Overhead commercial and industrial products such as fans including rolling grilles to the roll-up high-performance doors.

Aside from the high-quality and durable line products, we also invest to train our professional technicians to ensure that all installations and assembly of equipment will be smooth, safe, and operational.

We the best company to install energy-saving dock equipment and repair service in the New Jersey area and the adjacent areas.

For more information about our industrial fans and energy-saving products, please visit our official pages for the complete details.

For your needs about the industrial fans and other loading dock equipment, maintenance, and repair, you may contact us at telephone number 609-642-4864. If you wish to contact us online. Moreover, you may even send us your service request.

We are looking forward to getting in touch with you as our dedicated coordinators await your call to provide you with the utmost service. You may visit our service centers at the following service areas for a consultation: New Jersey, Jamesburg, Edison, Union, Cranbury, Lakewood, South Plainfield, NJ, and New York.

[tupakko45]

1 2 3 Ways Wireless Lamp

Features

1. Wireless remote control switch.

2. Suitable for drop-light, crystal lamp, modern low-pressure lamp, absorb dome light, day flower lamp, fluorescent lamp, energy-saving lamps, exhaust fan, etc.

3. It can be used in households, stairs, corridors, washrooms, toilets, workshops, warehouses, garage, factory lighting, etc.

4. Fast and easy to install, not obstructed by walls, capable of connecting any loads.

5. Remote controller and switch can be used simultaneously for ease and flexibility.

6. A stable signal receiving.

7. 1 x 12V 23A battery(Battery not included) is needed for the remote control switch. Specifications

1. Input: 200V-240V 50Hz/60Hz

2. Launch battery: 12V 23A(not included)

3. Over Load: Incandescent lamp: ≦1000W Energy-saving lamp: ≦200W LED Lamp: ≦100W Electrical machinery: ≦80W

4. Remote control distance: 10M-30M

5. Color: As pictures

6.  Size: Receiver:6*4.2*2.3cm/2.36*1.65*0.91inch Remote control:9.5*4.5*1.3cm/3.74*1.77*0.51inch

7. Remote control function: ON: turn on OFF: turn off SLEEP: turn downlights in 12 second (Partial batch on and off is finished by one key with a delayed turn off function)

8. Type: 1/2/3 ways

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Benefits of an Industrial Exhaust Fan

The Benefits of Industrial Exhaust Fans. There are various benefits associated with industrial exhaust fans. The main reason why these fans are preferred by commercial business owners is that they provide high ceiling clearance. These industrial exhaust fans are high energy and resource efficient and they have an excellent performance in removing airborne contaminants.

When you're looking into industrial exhaust fan installation, you're probably interested in figuring out just how beneficial they are. The list of benefits is long, and they all revolve around improving some specific element of your business. You may have already seen how an industrial exhaust fan could potentially help with labor costs, or maybe they could reduce your carbon footprint. One way or another, there are a lot of potential benefits to installing industrial exhaust fans. 

The industrial exhaust fan is an ideal solution for the occupant of a larger building compared to an ordinary exhaust fan. These fans are used in many industries including food, pharmaceutical and any other industry that requires heat or smoke removal. The industrial exhaust fan functions by drawing in the surrounding air while cooling the motor's heat. These fans also remove dust and fumes as they clear. These fans function quietly without creating excessive noise pollution as they operate. They are moveable, which allows them to be positioned effectively in large buildings.

Industrial exhaust fans are designed for commercial purposes and can make a huge difference in reducing the overall temperature of an indoor space. There are many benefits associated with Industrial Exhaust fans that you are sure to love.

4 Benefits of Using Industrial Exhaust Fans

When it comes to industrial ventilation, the most common solution is to use an exhaust fan. Exhaust fans are very effective in removing hot air from the room, and they can also be used for other purposes. Here are some of the benefits of using industrial exhaust fans:

1. Improved Air Quality

The main purpose of an exhaust fan is to remove hot air from a room and replace it with fresh air. This is especially important if you have a large space that needs to be cooled down quickly, such as a warehouse or factory floor. An exhaust fan will help you improve air quality by reducing temperatures and increasing circulation. This can reduce the amount of dust and other particles in your facility, which will help keep your employees healthier and more productive throughout their shifts.

2. Reduce the risk of fire

Industrial exhaust fans help eliminate potentially dangerous flammable vapours from the air by expelling them into the atmosphere through an open window or roof ventilator. This is especially important in areas where there is a risk of fire or explosion from flammable gases or fumes. By removing these hazardous materials from the air, you can reduce your risk of fire or explosion.

3. Reduced Humidity

Industrial exhaust fans help reduce humidity levels by pulling moisture from the air and replacing it with dryer air from outside. This will also make your building feel more comfortable for employees and visitors alike.

4. Lower Temperatures

An industrial exhaust fan will pull heat from inside your building and release it outside where temperatures may be cooler than inside your building. This means that you'll be able to save money on your cooling bills as well as avoid uncomfortable temperatures for workers who are indoors all day long.