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rarepair_shorts2008-03-19 06:12 pm
captainpookey.livejournal.com) wrote in rarepair_shorts2008-03-19 06:12 pm
Entry tags:
FICLET: Well, If You Put It That Way... (Remus/Lily)
Title: Well, If You Put It That Way...
Character Pairing: Remus/Lily
Prompt: "Well, If You Put It That Way..."
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~795
Summary: “I can’t get married,” she gasped, shaking her head....
Author's Notes: Possibly a part 1 of 2.
Link to Promp Table: Over here.
Remus’s index finger skimmed the cracked page, occasionally flicking excess dust out of the way, or pausing so he could squint at a word that was faded from the years, or otherwise circled and scribbled on in his illegible little writing decades ago, for reasons no longer apparent to him. A tie hung around his neck, not yet fastened, and a black suit coat rested on the back of the chair that he was seated in.
POP!
Alarmed, Remus jumped out of his chair, letting the old, overused copy of Dante’s Inferno topple to the ground. A couple of yellowing pages spewed out onto the wooden floorboards, but Remus failed to notice.
“Lily? What’re you--?”
“Remus!” She gasped, stumbling out of his crackling little fireplace, her beautiful white dress ashy, with a face to match. Her hair was half-pinned up, her feet bare. “I can’t do it! I can’t! I-- I-- Remus, you don’t understand.”
“You’re babbling, Lily, calm down--”
“I will not calm down!” She flew forward, grabbing fistfuls of his crisp shirt for emphasis as much as for support. She wavered on her feet, her green eyes as wide as the headlights on Sirius’s motorbike. Remus had never seen her in such a state.
“I can’t get married,” she gasped, shaking her head. “I can’t, James-- he-- well, it’s James. I can’t!” She shook him by the collar until he was able to pry her hands off.
“You have cold feet, that’s all it--”
“No! You don’t understand. I--”
“--Listen to me. Take a deep breathe,” she tried to worm her hands out of his, but he held them steady. “No. Deep breathe.”
They stared at each other for a moment, Lily half-seething, before she was able to take one deep intake of breathe and then thrust his hands away, shoving him lightly in the chest and throwing her arms in the air. “A deep breathe will not help me right now!” she cried, her voice strained.
Remus stepped backwards to regain his balance, but managed to trip over the novel instead and clatter to the floor in a flail of too-thin limbs.
The loud thud appeared to jolt Lily out of her emotional collapse, for she gasped and immediately bent to help him up. “Sorry, sorry!”
“It’s okay,” he murmured, dusting off the sides of his faded slacks with a small frown, which he then turned on Lily. “You’re crushing my arms,” he noted offhandedly.
“Oh!” She loosened her grasp on his biceps and instead resorted to biting her lip.
“Lily, do you remember that one weekend at the end of 7th year? The one we all went swimming in the lake and Peter thought the merpeople were going to kill him for, err, relieving himself in the water?” Remus asked evenly.
“Yes, but what--”
“Do you remember what you and James said to one another?”
Lily opened her mouth, faltered, and bit her lip. Her hands searched frantically for something, anything, until they found Remus’s forearm and tightened around it. Remus pulled the chair he’d been formerly sitting in out under her and gently pushed her into it, kneeling down in front of her.
“If I recall correctly, and I believe I do,” he continued, “That was the day James told you he loved you.”
“But--”
“Yes, yes, I know, it wasn’t the only day he said it. Merlin, he must’ve said it at least thrice a week since 2nd year, but that was the day he meant it. I watched your face, and you had the most serene expression. Your eyes went all foggy and your smile stretched from ear to ear. I don’t believe you stopped beaming the entire day -- even after Slughorn accosted you in the hall.”
Lily smiled a little bit, loosening her grip on Remus’s arm (much to his relief, as the blood had quickly been leaving it).
“You love James, and it makes no sense not to marry him.”
There was a moment of tense silence, wherein Lily held her breathe, and her eyes looked out over the top of Remus’s head and, he suspected, much beyond the study’s old wall. One of the loose pages of his novel crinkled under his shoe as he shifted, and he was immediately struck by the thought that while Dante hadn’t strictly defined this as a circle of hell, convincing the woman one loved into marrying one’s best mate certainly had to be one of the worst.
“I suppose you’re right, Remus,” she conceded, interrupting his reverie, “You’re always right. I don’t think I’d ever get on without you.” She cupped his face and kissed the top of his head sweetly.
He tried his hardest to smile.
Character Pairing: Remus/Lily
Prompt: "Well, If You Put It That Way..."
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~795
Summary: “I can’t get married,” she gasped, shaking her head....
Author's Notes: Possibly a part 1 of 2.
Link to Promp Table: Over here.
Remus’s index finger skimmed the cracked page, occasionally flicking excess dust out of the way, or pausing so he could squint at a word that was faded from the years, or otherwise circled and scribbled on in his illegible little writing decades ago, for reasons no longer apparent to him. A tie hung around his neck, not yet fastened, and a black suit coat rested on the back of the chair that he was seated in.
POP!
Alarmed, Remus jumped out of his chair, letting the old, overused copy of Dante’s Inferno topple to the ground. A couple of yellowing pages spewed out onto the wooden floorboards, but Remus failed to notice.
“Lily? What’re you--?”
“Remus!” She gasped, stumbling out of his crackling little fireplace, her beautiful white dress ashy, with a face to match. Her hair was half-pinned up, her feet bare. “I can’t do it! I can’t! I-- I-- Remus, you don’t understand.”
“You’re babbling, Lily, calm down--”
“I will not calm down!” She flew forward, grabbing fistfuls of his crisp shirt for emphasis as much as for support. She wavered on her feet, her green eyes as wide as the headlights on Sirius’s motorbike. Remus had never seen her in such a state.
“I can’t get married,” she gasped, shaking her head. “I can’t, James-- he-- well, it’s James. I can’t!” She shook him by the collar until he was able to pry her hands off.
“You have cold feet, that’s all it--”
“No! You don’t understand. I--”
“--Listen to me. Take a deep breathe,” she tried to worm her hands out of his, but he held them steady. “No. Deep breathe.”
They stared at each other for a moment, Lily half-seething, before she was able to take one deep intake of breathe and then thrust his hands away, shoving him lightly in the chest and throwing her arms in the air. “A deep breathe will not help me right now!” she cried, her voice strained.
Remus stepped backwards to regain his balance, but managed to trip over the novel instead and clatter to the floor in a flail of too-thin limbs.
The loud thud appeared to jolt Lily out of her emotional collapse, for she gasped and immediately bent to help him up. “Sorry, sorry!”
“It’s okay,” he murmured, dusting off the sides of his faded slacks with a small frown, which he then turned on Lily. “You’re crushing my arms,” he noted offhandedly.
“Oh!” She loosened her grasp on his biceps and instead resorted to biting her lip.
“Lily, do you remember that one weekend at the end of 7th year? The one we all went swimming in the lake and Peter thought the merpeople were going to kill him for, err, relieving himself in the water?” Remus asked evenly.
“Yes, but what--”
“Do you remember what you and James said to one another?”
Lily opened her mouth, faltered, and bit her lip. Her hands searched frantically for something, anything, until they found Remus’s forearm and tightened around it. Remus pulled the chair he’d been formerly sitting in out under her and gently pushed her into it, kneeling down in front of her.
“If I recall correctly, and I believe I do,” he continued, “That was the day James told you he loved you.”
“But--”
“Yes, yes, I know, it wasn’t the only day he said it. Merlin, he must’ve said it at least thrice a week since 2nd year, but that was the day he meant it. I watched your face, and you had the most serene expression. Your eyes went all foggy and your smile stretched from ear to ear. I don’t believe you stopped beaming the entire day -- even after Slughorn accosted you in the hall.”
Lily smiled a little bit, loosening her grip on Remus’s arm (much to his relief, as the blood had quickly been leaving it).
“You love James, and it makes no sense not to marry him.”
There was a moment of tense silence, wherein Lily held her breathe, and her eyes looked out over the top of Remus’s head and, he suspected, much beyond the study’s old wall. One of the loose pages of his novel crinkled under his shoe as he shifted, and he was immediately struck by the thought that while Dante hadn’t strictly defined this as a circle of hell, convincing the woman one loved into marrying one’s best mate certainly had to be one of the worst.
“I suppose you’re right, Remus,” she conceded, interrupting his reverie, “You’re always right. I don’t think I’d ever get on without you.” She cupped his face and kissed the top of his head sweetly.
He tried his hardest to smile.
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And this was so heart-breakingly sweet. Especially that last line... ooh, the last line. Poor Remus, he's such a noble soul.
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...I actually haven't read it, except for bits and pieces, although I've been meaning to for about a year now. Damn school taking up all my free time!
(oops, totally forgot all the new tags we're supposed to have. haha. My bad!)
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