Author's Note: This story is written for HP Slash Luv for the Ultimate Fic Exchange on the HPFC forum. I write Lily Luna a little differently than how I've seen her in a lot of other fanfics, but I hope you like it, Sam!
He really shouldn't have agreed to this. That was all Teddy could think about as he carried a box up to Lily's new flat. Lily climbed the stairs in front of him, and Teddy kept his gaze down, glancing at the miscellaneous books and quills in the box so his eyes didn't drift up towards the swishing hem of her skirt. Seriously, what made him think this was a good idea?
Only a few days ago, Lily had graduated Hogwarts, a fact that made Teddy feel a new ache in his back. He'd been the first of them to go through Hogwarts, and now, she was the last. Had it really been ten years since he'd been in that castle? Was he really feeling a different kind of ache in his chest for someone so young? Was there anything right about his attraction towards her?
There were too many questions. There were always too many questions when it came to Lily. The majority of his interactions with her were always filled with doubt and anxiety and questions, questions, questions. Was that a brotherly compliment? Was that hug a little too long? Did Albus and James ever notice the new curves filling out her clothes? It was just an observation after all, right?
Being with the rest of the family was easy compared to being with Lily. He'd never really questioned his interactions with any of his Weasley might-as-well-be-cousins. His relationship with Victoire had built up naturally, never any nervousness about crossing a line. That was long over now, though. Every simple thing in Teddy's life was over. Five years ago, he never would have predicted he'd be anything but Auror Lupin, husband to Victoire Weasley. He was neither of those things anymore. He hated blaming other for his problems, but honestly, it was all Lily's fault.
It was her simple words five years ago: "If you aren't happy, do something that makes you happy. Then you won't be sad anymore."
Those words were easy for a teenager to say, and Teddy didn't listen to them at first. Lily had always been too naive and optimistic for her own good. She didn't understand how the real world worked. As the months past, though, Teddy began to wonder why he shouldn't be happy. His life had been complicated and tragic since birth. Maybe he could change that.
His job went first. Being an Auror was for his mum and his godfather. Not him. And turned out that being a Healer brought him the joy and satisfaction that working at the Ministry never did.
Victoire left soon after. The perfect life she had planned didn't leave room for changes, especially such major ones like a career. And Lily—the ever-chipper and supportive little sister—had been there. When she asked for help moving into her new flat, Teddy knew he couldn't say 'no'.
"That's finally the last of it," Lily said, placing the final box on top of the others. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and patted it against her brow. Then she removed her square-framed glasses and rubbed them clean as she had done three times since Teddy arrived. Teddy shook his head, knowing she couldn't see him, as he placed his box next to the clean line of suitcases and crates that stood against the wall. Lily had somehow found a way to make the messiness of moving into a new home an organised and aesthetic process. He loved that about her.
As she placed her glasses back on her nose, she glanced over at Teddy with a smile. "Thanks for helping. This would have been just awful to do by myself."
"Anytime," Teddy said with a shrug. "Not like I had anything better to do today."
She fixed him with a curious stare. Merlin, did she know he'd taken off work to be there? No, no, how could she know that?
Lily shook her head, turning her attention down to the box in front of her. "You really are a better brother than the two I got stuck with," she said as she rifled through the box.
"Yeah…" Teddy's lips quirked in a grimace that he tried to hide. He really hated that word. Brother. He already felt guilty over the age gap. She didn't need to add incest to that.
She picked up a shrunken dining table, set it on the ground, and tapped it with her wand. The table jumped off the floor, back to its regular size before it landed. Teddy glanced down at all the other contents that needed unpacked, unsure of what he was supposed to do now. "Do you need help unpacking?" he asked.
"No, no," Lily said, turning quickly to stop him from touching anything. "I'll be fine now. No Muggles here. I can get everything unpacked in no time."
Teddy raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't want me to put something in the wrong place, don't you?"
Her cheeks blushed, the light splattering of freckles disappearing against her flushed skin. "Is it so wrong to like things a certain way?"
"I suppose not. It's just a bit annoying."
They kept up a playful glare for a few moments before Lily looked away first. She gazed at the boxes before turning towards him, and he could see the goodbye on the tip of her tongue.
"We should go out for lunch," he said, surprised at his own blurted suggestion. "I mean, that was a lot of work. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
Lily chuckled at him. "You've been away from the Auror office too long if that's what you count as hard work."
"I'm a Healer now. I've got to work on looking more friendly and cheerful. Like Father Christmas." He put his hands on his stomach as he grew out his belly into a large, saggy pouch that peeked out from beneath his grey shirt.
As she laughed, Lily shielded her eyes in disgust. "You're horrible," she said, peering through her fingers until Teddy—grinning widely—had returned his middle to its usual size. "Despite your horribleness," Lily added, "I would love to go to lunch with you." Teddy' heart grew as large as his stomach had been until she continued. "But then I'd have to change and fix my hair and—"
"Are you serious? You're already wearing a dress!"
"I'd hardly call this a dress," Lily said with a scoff as she picked at the pale pink fabric. "It's more like a frock. Grandmum made it."
"I thought you liked her home-made clothes?"
"Not to go out in!" She looked horrified at the idea. "Casually at home, yes, but it's far from proper for going anywhere else."
"Fine, fine," Teddy said, putting his hands up in surrender. "But what the hell is wrong with your hair?"
Lily put a hand to the delicate plaits along the side of her head that led back into a complicated looking bun. "I never got out with my hair up!"
Teddy couldn't seem to close his mouth. "It's lunch, not a ball."
"Well forgive me for enjoying looking nice when leaving the house."
"I don't understand why you care so much about appearances."
"That's rich coming from you." She slid her eyes up and down his body, making Teddy suddenly self-conscious from his combat boots to the tips of his blue hair. "You look like you just left a Hobgoblins concert."
"Ack," Teddy scoffed. "Hobgoblins? Really?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, are they not good enough?"
"They'll alright, but come on, I'm wearing a Weird Sisters shirt." He motioned towards his chest, but Lily only gave him a confused expression. He glanced down to see only an expanse of grey cotton. "Oh," he said, tugging at the collar of his shirt and looking down at the inside. "I may have put this on inside-out."
Lily burst into bright laughter, covering her mouth as if embarrassed to show too much teeth. She turned around, taking the moment to recover herself before looking back at him. "I've missed this."
Teddy had had enough embarrassing moments in his life not to be bothered by the shirt, but her words drew out his nerves. "What do you mean?"
"I mean these… 'Teddy' moments." Another fit of giggles cut her off.
He felt a little bit disappointed at the comment but tried to keep himself positive. She had practically said she missed him, right? Close enough.
"If you're through laughing at me," he said with a smile and stepped towards her, "can we go to lunch now?"
"Teddy," she whined in a way she would have hated herself for if she really heard herself, but that was her curse for being the youngest child.
"Lily," he said, mocking her whine and receiving a deadly glare matched with a too-adorable-to-take-serious pout. "Look, if you dress yourself up, I'm going to look like a complete freak next to you. People will probably already think I'm kidnapping you or something. Give me a fighting chance." He batted the lashes of his light brown eyes, the only part of him that he could never change.
With a dramatic sigh, Lily finally put her wand back in her pocket and surrendered. "Fine, fine, but remember, I'd only do this for you." She pointed a finger at him like that was a bad thing before turning to fetch her purse.
Only for you. Only for you. The words pulled up Teddy's lips into a wide smile, not even remembering to tell her off for grabbing her purse. Who was he kidding? She'd never leave it behind.
Pushing down his flustered feelings, Teddy held out his arm to her. "My lady," he said.
She rolled her eyes. "Really?"
"Humour me."
Shaking her head, she tucked her arm into his, her small fingers laying against the skin beneath his shirt sleeve. The light touch brought a warmth to Teddy's chest that he hadn't felt since he and Victoire had first started dating. Well, if he had had any doubts about his feelings for Lily before, they were gone now. Too bad that confirmation left him with a bittersweet taste in his mouth.
Then he saw something. A small something. Her proud smile—the grown-up mask that made Lily seem too good for anything childish and fun—slipped away into a shy grin. For a moment, he saw the way she pursed her lips and sucked in her cheeks, restraining her mouth from splitting into a grin. He couldn't see a single freckle across her cheeks.
In the next second, Lily composed herself, looking up at Teddy with an expectant, slightly impatient expression. "So where to?"
"The finest restaurant in all of Britain, of course." He meant for the words to carry an obnoxious bravado, but all the playfulness had left him. His voice sounded hesitant and cautious, too whispered.
Lily barely seemed to notice. Or maybe she was gracefully ignoring the breathy tone of his voice. "So… the Leaky Cauldron?"
"Where else?"
The two of them smiled at each other for a heartbeat too long, then Teddy raised his wand to Apparate them to what he was already considering their first date.