Moony Down
James fumbled with the paper pounds at the register of the hamburger place, taking entirely longer than he should have, and finally got the correct amount to the girl that worked there, the paper hat she wore on her head a bit soggy from the greasy air. She gave him the change and handed him a number on a silver table marker, "It'll be right up," she said in a bored voice.
James looked about and spotted Lily, sitting at a table by the windows and he went over and joined her, putting the silver marker down where it could easily be seen. Lily looked up as he sank into the chair across from her. "You didn't need to do that, I could've paid," she said.
"And let you have all the fun of dealing with the wonky muggle money?" he laughed.
"I mean, I do know the currency," Lily said, "I grew up using it."
James said, "Besides, a gentleman never makes a lady pay on a... a date. Or... or whatever this is. I'm not saying it's a date if you don't want it to be a date, but if it's a date then -- but it's up to you. Entirely. I'm going to stop talking now because I feel like I'm saying stupid things."
Lily laughed quietly, looking at the table top. Her hair was falling out of the bun on the back of her head and several long strands fell over her shoulders to frame her face. James couldn't help but think she looked very pretty with it falling out like that.
"I think it's just lunch," Lily said. "I don't think this is the sort of place where first dates happen."
"Good call," James said.
Lily sighed and leaned back. She picked up the straw that lay on her napkin and slowly unpeeled the paper off it, making a little pile of teensy little bits. "Sorry about Petunia, by the way," Lily murmured. "She's... well, Petunia."
James waved it off. "It's fine."
Lily said, "It's not."
"So Severus Snape's from around here, too? Spinner's End? What is that?"
"A street... in a nasty neighborhood..." Lily sighed, "It's sort of where the poor people live. But Sev hasn't really been here in ages. Dunno where they stay... or he stays, now, I suppose... since his mum..." she trailed away.
James studied the utensils, pressing his thumb to the tines of the fork so the handle lifted and dropped as he flexed the muscles in his hand. He wished he hadn't brought it up. He didn't want to talk about Snape.
"So have you lived here long?" he asked.
"All my life," Lily replied. "In the same house."
"Me, too. Except in Godric's Hollow."
Lily watched his fork rise and fall. "Like Godric Gryffindor?"
"Yeah, it's where he's from. Dumbledore, too. And Bathilda Bagshot. Loads of famous people. Small town. Really nice. I like it a lot. Sirius likes it, too. Stayed with us most of the summer - mum reckons he's her kid now, I think. He went with Rey in Newt Scamander's case for part of the summer, too. You probably know that, though, you talk to Sirius quite a lot. You lot sent loads of owls over the summer."
Lily's eyes moved from the fork to James's eyes. He was still staring at the fork. She could see the nervousness playing over his face and she couldn't help but smile. "Blimey," she joked with a smirk, "You'd think it was you and Sirius that were boyfriends, the way you're going on. Does Remus know Sirius is cheating on him with you?"
James's eyes glinted as he replied, "I'm absolutely positive that Sirius has our love worked into the relationship agreement. Such passion as ours cannot be overlooked."
Lily said, "I should certainly hope not. True love should never be denied."
James's face twitched in a funny way and he looked across the little dining area, "I should think not," he murmured.
Lily licked her lips and watched him a moment. "Potter, do you ---"
She was interrupted by the bored cashier girl arriving to the table with two plastic baskets containing their food. She put them onto the table, chewing a wad of gum in the corner of her mouth, and she looked at James for a moment, her eyes sort of frisking over him - though he didn't seem to notice the attention. "Can I get you anything else?" she asked him, not Lily.
"Do you have those funny little catsup bags?" James asked, wiggling his fingers to indicate the packets.
The girl said, "We aren't that fancy." She half turned and picked up a red plastic container from another table and dropped it between them.
"Ah, that'll do, yeah, thanks." James lifted the catsup and raised it in a cheers to the girl, and she reluctantly left as James poured catsup over the bed of chips beneath his burger. He looked up at Lily and offered her the catsup. She took it and sprayed her own chips as he chewed, watching her. "So... Do I what?"
"What?" Lily looked up.
"Before she came over with the food, you started to ask me something. You said Potter, do you --." His eyes were curiously searching hers. "Do I what?" He stuffed a couple catsup-soaked chips into his mouth, one eyebrow cocked in amusement, a flicker of a smirk twitching about the corner of his lips as he chewed.
Lily flushed. "I dunno," she lied. "I don't remember."
The Great Hall was decorated fabulously... garlands of silver and gold, strings of faerie lights, and enchanted snow falling from the ceiling... Instead of traditional Christmas trees, there were glistening ice sculptures of evergreen trees that glowed with white light from the inside out, and the tables were made of ice and there was a glistening ice rink across the raised floor where the staff table usually rested. Overhead were six-point stars that sparkled and shined in the flickering lights of hundreds of candles. Professor Flitwick stood by the ice rink, changing trainers into ice skates so students could go gliding across the shiny surface. It was so pretty, it was like a winter wonderland, beautiful to behold, and tinkling carols played loudly and there was dancing and everyone's eyes shone bright with smiles and laughter.
"Oh blimey, Moony, look'it this!" cried Sirius, clutching Remus's hand in his own as he looked about, the wonder of a child on his face, "Oh look'it this! Look'it this!" He gleefully clapped his hands and pointed out all sorts of things. "This is fabulous," he gasped.
Remus allowed himself to be pulled along behind Sirius, dizzy from the cologne scent coming off him and all the other boys and girls that filled the great hall. The food didn't help - such strong peppermint and gingerbread and holiday spices as it were... they smelled so good and yet the sensation of it, compounded with everything else... and Remus felt his face growing flush and his knees ached. But he couldn't give up.
"Bloody hell, this is absolutely the best. Here, look, a table near to the ice skating. Think they got that idea from us, when we did it?" Sirius laughed and pulled Remus along toward the table he's potted, dragging him by his wrist until they'd reached the front of the room - as far from the door as possible, Remus noticed, and he just prayed that he wouldn't have to make a dash for the boys' toilet. Sirius pulled out a chair and cordially sat Remus down in it before sitting in his own, "How's that for chivalry?" he asked, grinning, "Don't ever let anybody tell you your boyfriend is anything short of the best, mate!"
"I wouldn't dream..." murmured Remus.
Sirius clutched Remus's hand even after they'd sat and Remus could feel the excitement in his pulse under the soft part of his thumb. Sirius's top hat was so shiny that it reflected the faerie lights. "We should go ice skating!" Sirius said, looking over. "Do you want to?"
Remus didn't. He didn't want to move. His entire body was shivering and the ice trees were making it all the harder to ever dream of moving and a quick glance at the rink showed students were slipping and sliding all over, spinning and falling and laughing and having a grand time doing all sorts of things that Remus did not want to do. He pictured falling and hurting his knees or spinning and losing control of the contents of his belly, or of Sirius trying to be a smart ass and lift him up into the air like they were on some icecapades telly program or something... which was soooo something Sirius Black would do.
"Ok," he said. Which was the opposite of what he meant. But Sirius's eyes were so bleedin' excited... Remus was physically incapable of saying no to him just then.
Pumped, Sirius pulled Moony along up to where Flitwick waited and Remus held onto the gold phoenix-shaped podium that had been pulled to one side...
Somebody opened the front doors of the castle and a great wind gusted through the Great Hall, whistling in the curve of the enchanted ceiling. Remus looked up as it flustered the faeries and a few of the candles went out, and a breath-taking amount of ice-cold air - the sort that hurts the lungs to inhale - rushed into Remus's face, along with about a third of the bottle of cologne Sirius had splashed upon himself and as Sirius was wondering who it was that had come in the castle, Remus felt his eyes go crossy and he tipped over into a clump of snow at Professor Flitwick's feet.
Remus woke up in Madam Pomfrey's ward. Everything was still bleary about the edges, but he could see Sirius sitting at his side, his head hung, staring at his thumbs, which he was nervously tapping together, his eyebrows knit tight, eyes closed, lips moving as he muttered to himself. "Padfoot. What... what happened?
Sirius turned to look at him. "Bleeding hell you're awake. We had a Moony down." He flung himself over Remus's chest.
Remus murmured, "Moony down?"
"Yes, you bleeding idiot! You're such a colossal dumb-dumb you've nearly killed yourself!"
"I love you too."
Sirius clutched Remus's shoulder, his ear to his heart, listening, "You scared me to death, ferfuckssakes! Pomfrey had to pump you full of nutrients! You haven't been eating, she says. Could tell you hadn't eaten in probably four days, she says! All the times you say to everyone to EAT AND YOU'LL FEEL BETTER -- didn't take your own damned advice! What were you thinking?"
Remus hadn't realized he'd done it. He shook his head.
"You didn't tell me you weren't well. I was afraid you wouldn't. Ugh. Why'm I such a bleedin' idiot? I should've asked - should've checked... didn't see the signs... your boyfriend's a gigantic turdwaffle."
"A turdwaffle?"
"Yes."
"I dunno what a turdwaffle is but you aren't one."
Sirius shook his head, "I am. I'm the biggest turdwaffle there is."
Remus shook his head, "I should've told you."
"You're breathing funny."
Remus was still breathing out his mouth only. He flushed.
"Why are you breathing funny?"
"Sirius..."
"Tell me. Are you hurt? Do you need Poppy?" Sirius sat up and was about to go after Madam Pomfrey when Remus caught his wrist.
"It's your cologne," he said. "It's - I can't breathe."
"Bloody hell, Rey! You can't be serious."
"You're right, I can't because the role of Sirius is already taken." Remus smiled weakly, hoping the joke would cheer him up.
Sirius frowned, "Yes and it's being played by an absolute buffoon of a turdwaffle."
Remus squeezed his fingers. "Sirius --"
"I'm the worst boyfriend there ever was."
"Sirius."
"Moony?"
"I'm not allowed to let anyone tell me my boyfriend is less than the best," he whispered.
"You git."
"Stinky prat. Go shower. Please."
"I'm so sorry. I just... I wanted to smell nice for my moon-moon."
Remus laughed, "Your moon-moon?"
"That's you."
"Bloody hell." Remus rolled his eyes. "Tell you what. You go shower and I'll forgive you for calling me moon-moon."
Sirius stared at him apologetically.
"I'm serious mate, I'm gonna hurl if I have to smell you for even another second.... And don't think I'm not above aiming for you in revenge."
Sirius scrambled off the bed.