Petunia places a hand on his shoulder. "Vernon, love," she mumbles. He looks at her and manages a tremulous smile. "What is it?" she asks.
In his mind's eye, it's Lily.
He groans and puts his head in his hands. He can't tell her. He knows how she feels about her sister, how he should feel. But 'should' was always not enough for him—this time he's overstepped his bounds. He's over the line.
"It's—the drills. They aren't selling so well."
"Oh. God, Vernon, that's nothing!" She kisses him softly, to tell him that she's there for him. Then her face twists in worry. "You—We—you aren't poor then, though?" Her voice has a desperate sound to it.
In his mind's eye, it's Lily.
He chuckles half-heartedly. "No, darling, I'll be fine." He fingers the box in his pocket, and pictures Lily's face. He pictures getting down on one knee. "Will you marry me?" he'd say, and she'd start to cry in her joy, fat tears rolling down her angelic face as she runs a hand through her perfect, fly-away red curls and gasps out a strangled yes, of course!
It's always Lily.
And suddenly he's on one knee before Petunia, smiling up at her as though she is her younger sister. "I adore you, Petunia Evans. Marry me."
In his mind's eye, it's Lily.
She starts to cry, just like Lily would, but her tears are thin and fake, streaming down her horse-like face in a torrent of confused, wrong, passionate emotions that aren't all between the two of them.
"Yes, of course!" she manages, smiling through her tears and going to him with a fierce hug and a big kiss.
In his mind's eye, it's Lily.
He slips the ring onto her finger and smiles unnaturally, because it's not Lily.
In real life, it's Petunia.
A/N: Hmm...I dunno how I feel about this. (Pretty bad) Petunia oneshots are flying out, so I figured I'd better counter my torrent of the elder Evans with Vernon. Again for the Never Before Seen Pairing Challenge. Review, please.