Fade
"Lily?"
Lily Evans jumped. Her neck turned towards the boy's tower so fast it cracked audibly. The boy standing at the foot of the staircase winced.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you."
She shook her head, slowly stretching out her sore neck, "Oh it's alright, I just zoned out for a minute."
He smiled, walking across the room to sit in the plush chair across from her, "Yeah, you looked pretty far gone. What're you doing up?"
"Oh, just thinking."
It was pleasantly silent for a moment. Lily noticed the way the orange firelight added warmth to his usually pale but handsome face. It was nice to see him smiling; he was generally so serious around her. Though, come to think of it, she couldn't recall ever speaking to him alone before.
"My great prat of a friend not keeping you up, I hope?"
Lily laughed, then sighed in exasperation, "I appreciated the singing birthday card, honestly, I just wish that maybe he could…"
"Find a more private place than your advanced potions class to deliver his sentiments?"
She laughed, "Exactly. God I was so embarrassed!"
"Oh, I remember. Your face was nearly as red as your hair."
Lily sighed again, pulling her hair out of its hasty bun. It fell past her shoulders.
"I'm sure it was very heartfelt, really."
"I'm sure, though from the sound of it, it may have been felt in more places than his heart, perhaps?"
She hit him with a pillow.
"You're terrible! Though I'm beginning to think you're a legilimens also. Are you?"
He leaned back on her pillow and smiled. It was a different sort of smile than she'd ever seen him wear before, confident and self-satisfied.
"I'm just Remus."
But from what Lily had seen, that meant a lot. She may have never had a private conversation with Remus before, but she certainly saw quite a lot of him. He was in every one of her advanced classes, sometimes with James, but often without. He was quiet, reserved, and unbearably smart. Remus seemed to exude a calm intelligence that Lily herself, often frazzled and even bossy (James called her a "know it all" quite a lot), could never achieve. She was aware he was a fierce competitor for her top spot in the class, but tended to sacrifice pure academic intellect for moonlighting as one fourth of the infamous Marauder "gang." She could even see the mischievous glint in his grey eyes. Lily realized she was staring, and looked away quickly. Remus sighed again, not noticing.
"He'll grow out of it, trust me."
It was hard not to. Lily shook her musings from her head when she leaned back and felt a distinct absence of cushion.
"Hey, give me my pillow back!"
He shook his head, laughing, "You threw it at me! It's mine."
Without thinking about how she barely new this boy, or how he would react, Lily lunged from her chair, making a grab for the red pillow. Remus caught her arm and held her off effortlessly. She had no idea he was so strong, or this playful for that matter. Squirming desperately, she managed to get one hand free and reached around him, no longer trying to retrieve her lost cushion but now trying to escape his firm grasp. Instinctively, she reached down and tickled his side. Remus laughed in surprise but quickly regained control, whispering,
"That may work on James, but it doesn't work on me."
With that, his free hand found her rips, and she squealed with the feeling of his fingers dancing over them. Her knees buckled and she fell forward with a soft thump.
Slowly, Lily opened her eyes, which only then did she realize had been squeezed shut. With a tiny squeak, she realized that she was sitting across Remus's lap, one hand on his chest (which felt surprisingly firm) and the other firmly contained within his strong fingers. His smirking face was no more than five inches from hers, still glinting in the firelight.
"A valiant effort, but I'm afraid the pillows mine, despite the efforts of your tiny ineffectual fists."
She glared at him, but was unable to sustain it as he reached up and swept a long piece of hair from her face, tucking it gently behind her ear.
"What… what are you doing?" she whispered.
"What are you doing?" he retorted, and Lily realized the hand that had been on his chest had crept up to tangle its long fingers in his light brown hair. It was soft against her skin. Neither moved their hand.
"I-I think I should probably go up to bed," Lily whispered. She was surprised at how out of breath she sounded. Surely, their brief confrontation hadn't been that strenuous?
"You probably should." His voice sounded much the same. Lily felt herself leaning in, her eyes half shut.
"Remus, I…"
He put his finger to her lips, "Shh…" then replaced them with his mouth.
The second he released her hand, it found his face, and Lily found herself running her fingers down his soft skin, pulling him to her. Her mouth opened under the pressure, and his tongue swept inside, soft and probing. She was absolutely floored. This quiet, shy boy, who she barely knew, how could he kiss her like this? Why was she kissing him? She guided her own tongue along his. His hands were cold through her flannel pants, running up her legs and along her sides, finally resting on her waist and pulling her closer. She came eagerly, enjoying the feel of him pressed so intimately to her as she leaned him back over the couch, the kiss becoming more rushed and desperate. It was when she felt the all too familiar ache in her lower abdomen that she pulled her lips from his.
"Remus I… we can't, I mean, I barely… and James, if he knew he'd, I don't know what came over me, I don't want to stop but-"
"Lily!" She turned back to face him, and was surprised to find him smiling. God, she wanted an excuse to continue.
"W-what?"
"It's just a little kiss, calm down!" he laughed. Lily sighed in some sort of sick relief.
"A kiss, right. Just once, that's all, I mean, seriously, it's hardly a big deal, right?"
"Right."
And somehow, Lily found her lips on his again, and the world faded away.
theobjectlesson