Author's Note: Given that I headcanon that Lily and James would drop everything to slow-dance or jam out to classic Muggle tunes, this drabble prompt basically wrote itself.
Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.
Warnings: Unplanned pregnancy
House: Hufflepuff
Role: Head Girl
Category: Round 7, Drabble
Prompt: [Song prompt] Can't Help Falling in Love with You by Elvis Presley
Word Count: 688
Stacked with: Hogwarts House Competition; MC4A; Shower of Words; Shipping War
Individual Challenge(s): Gryffindor MC (x2); Seeds; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux
Representation(s): Parenthood; pregnancy celebration
Bonus Challenge(s): Tomorrow's Shade; Chorus (Not a Lamp)
Tertiary Bonus Challenge(s): NA
Shipping War
Ship (Team): Lily Evans and James Potter (Patronus Pair)
List (Prompt): Micro 2 (Worst Possible Timing)
My Must Have
Like a river flows surely to the sea
Darling so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand, take my whole life too
For I can't help falling in love with you
-Can't Help Falling in Love With You, Elvis Presley
Lily could feel herself shaking as she wrapped her arms around herself and stared at her feet.
"Okay," James said.
"I don't know how… I don't know what we did wrong," Lily asked. "I just—I can't think of… of how this happened, but it did."
"Okay," James said.
That was the only word he'd managed to produce in the last ten minutes and Lily couldn't quite pinpoint where he was at. It was quite a disturbing position to be in vis-à-vis her husband of two years—her incredibly transparent and easy-to-read husband, at that.
She rubbed at her eyes and took a deep breath. "We're twenty years old, James. And we were literally fighting Death Eaters last week—we barely made it out in one piece before Voldemort arrived… Oh God, this baby was in Voldemort's presence… Of all the times to bring a child into this world... "
"Hey," James said, taking her hands and pulling them down. He echoed her words. "We're having a baby?"
"Well… yeah," Lily said. "I mean… I'm kind of making one right now."
James laughed.
"Okay," James said.
"Say more words than 'okay,'" Lily said.
"I think I might start crying if I do that," James said. He made a fragile noise, somewhere between a choke and a sob, before tugging on her hands to draw her closer. She rested her forehead on his chest. The usual comfort of finding herself wrapped in his arms paired with a massive weight lifted from her shoulders felt incredible. Still, her stomach churned.
"I've already cried a lot," Lily said. "I won't judge."
James laughed into her hair and kissed the top of her head.
"Happy tears?"
"Happy tears. So, so happy. Maybe they were scared too."
"We wanted a family, we've talked about it… If it's happening, it's happening. Maybe it's meant to be. Timing doesn't matter, Evans," he said quietly.
"You've seen how I colour-code the calendar."
"Okay: so timing is a nice to have," James said. "But you're my must have. For now, anyways—I'm getting another, soon."
Lily laughed again and looked up at him. He brushed back a lock of her hair.
"Merlin, I didn't know I could love you more, Evans. I just keep falling in love, you know? That's my favourite thing about you. I'll always have a new way to love you."
"Keep saying nice things," Lily smiled.
"I meant my vows," James said. "You got my hand in marriage, and my whole life too. And when I sing them to you every time they come on the radio, I mean them just as much…"
He drew his wand and flicked it towards the radio before dropping it on the table. Layered over the simple and familiar melody, Elvis' smooth, deep voice filled the living room. They'd dropped everything to dance to this song around the kitchen a hundred times before, but now they were moving softly and gently, taking all the time in the world. James' hands drifted to the small of her back and gently he nudged her into swaying. The music, the dance, his warm and stable hold on her… It did more than calm her; it grounded her. Centered her. She appreciated how easily he could do that for her, knowing full well that he'd soon be running off to scream into Sirius' pillow and gush.
"We'll get through all the… all the complications. We can do this," Lily said softly as the song drew to an end. It always ended too soon for her taste. "And Merlin, you're going to be such a good dad too…"
That was apparently the last straw for James, or so Lily gathered from the tears now. He reached down to touch her middle, and she reached up and kissed him as the song slowed to an end. It always ended too soon for her taste.