"Lils" I call up the stairs to my wife.
We're celebrating five months of marriage today. I care even if no one else does. Sirius says he's just glad I don't whine anymore.
We started the celebration with a morning shag. Now, I'm standing in the kitchen making breakfast for us. Because, clearly, I am not the man in this relationship. Lily Evans - no, Lily Potter, I note to myself in glee - wears the pants.
"Lily" I call again. "Breakfast is ready."
When I don't hear any movement, I take the bacon off the stove and wander upstairs, hoping that my wife is still in the shower, where I might be able to join her. However, as my feet hit the landing, the sound of water is distinctly absent. So, I move on to the bedroom.
I push the door open and peer around, seeing the closet light spilling into the otherwise dark bedroom. There she is. My smile goes soft and caring and soppy, the kind of smile only a wife could pull from a husband.
My Lily - auburn hair, still damp from the shower and slightly knotted. She is wearing a large blue shirt that I recognize as mine, and is kneeling down on the floor of the closet, her body blocking whatever she is looking at from my view. She appears to be shaking and I immediately cross the room, cautiously settling myself behind her and pulling her into my lap.
She isn't crying but her eyes are closed and she tries to pull away from me. I let her, shocked at that response. "Lils, what's wrong?" I ask gently.
Lily shakes her head, in anger, in disappointment, in sadness and I am desperate to know what is bothering her. I take a few minutes to let the desperation wear-off, telling myself that I can handle this.
"Lily, please tell me what's happened."
She turns to face me, slowly and strangely, as we are both still seated on the floor of our closet. I see that she has something…black clutched in one hand and my jeans in the other. I give her a curious gaze; her emerald eyes burn.
"Whose. Are. They" she asks, flinging the black something into my hand. I catch with Quidditch reflexes I'd forgotten I'd ever possessed. Black…underwear. Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit. It's the only thing I'm thinking and feeling and I watch Lily's face shut down when I don't reply immediately that it isn't what she thinks. Shit, Potter, think. Say something. Don't screw this up.
"They aren't anyone's… yet" I say. Lily's eyes flash dangerously and I hurry to explain further. "Well, you see, they are meant for someone but I hadn't exactly… well, shit… I mean…" I run a hand over my face for lack of a better explanation.
Lily looks furious, a towering rage of red-headed fury. I'm quite surprised that I haven't pissed myself at this point. "James Potter, if you don't explain yourself now, explain to me why I found got black lingerie in the back pocket of your jeans, I WILL CASTRATE YOU!"
I do so love my wife when she's angry.
"Lily, love, Lils darling, I can't…" I stop myself as Lily's face turns red at my words, but not in a good way. May as well just throw in the entire thing, I realize bitterly.
"Um, Lils, you know how you don't have any black lingerie?" I ask quietly.
"Yes" she growls.
"And you know how our five month wedding anniversary is today?"
"Yes." She sounds sadder now. Silly girl - still thinking I'll find someone better. She doesn't know how bad I've got it.
"Well, I decided for a present… I would buy you black lingerie… and you could wear it… for me" I say the entire sentence slowly, watching Lily carefully. Her mouth has dropped open.
"So, they aren't someone else?" she asks.
"No" I say and shake my head vehemently. "Definitely not."
There is a moment of silence and then Lily laughs - a quiet giggle, then a loud stream of laughter until she is guffawing practically. She laughs so hard that she loses her balance and leans into my chest, so that her forehead is rested between the crook of my neck and shoulder. I laugh quietly, in relief mostly.
"I'm so sorry James." She tells me this when she finishes laughing. "I forget that my husband can buy me lingerie - I'm sorry."
I just smile and nod, aware that it probably caught her off guard because that was my Lily - she really was quite innocent sometimes. Except for right now, when she's smiling at me with her head tilted to one side.
"Should I model them now?" she asks, her lips curling into a smirk as I nod eagerly.
And once she puts the underwear on, it doesn't take too long to get them off. As we celebrate our marriage, I remember that I've taken the bacon off the stove. I'm so glad for that.