before tomorrow becomes yesterday
for Jemma
[James Potter is less than perfect, and the way he proposes to Lily Evans is also less than perfect and just a little bit awkward.]
It's a small house in Godric's Hollow, two storeys with vines climbing up the weathered yellow brick. A wooden fence surrounds the perimeter, with messy shrubbery growing up against it. Dust clouds the windows, and a worn dirt path threads in between long, untended grass, leading the way to the front door.
Inside, the walls are bare plaster, and the floor stained and faded wood. Only the two bathrooms and the kitchen are fully furnished, while all other rooms feature only the bare minimum. Upstairs, in the master bedroom, a cheap, wooden bedframe with a puffy, bouncy mattress on top in the only piece of furniture, save for a stack of books on the floor. A dull red blanket drapes over the top, with matching pillows. In the dining room, downstairs, a wooden table stands in the centre, with three mismatched chairs around it.
A glass vase sits on the dining table, filled to overflowing with roses. The roses are of a slightly off-white colour, but not quite yellow, and there are too many of them. They have been hastily jammed in, and the thorns are still attached. Leaves and petals have fallen into messy piles around the vase. A portable radio has been placed next to the vase, playing gentle harp music which, if quieter, would have given a peaceful atmosphere. As it is though, the music is far too loud, less romantic and more distracting. A flickering light hangs from the ceiling, nearly brushing the roses.
James Potter owns the house. He'd refused his parents offers to help pay for it and the furnishings, instead choosing to pay for it with his own meagre earnings. His three closest friends had helped him move, and he'd sworn them to secrecy. He didn't want anyone to know until… well, that's the secret.
James is wearing a muggle dinner suit, which is covered by an apron. He thinks that maybe, just maybe, Lily might appreciate it if he showed some interest in her heritage and culture. The black tie is a little too tight and itches at his neck, though, but maybe that's just the nerves. Today is important.
Very carefully, he carries over three dishes – potatoes, pork chops, and salad – and places them delicately on the dining table. Fine Cuisine: Essentials for the Classy Wizard or Witch lay open on the counter in the kitchen. A few drops of milk from the bottle next to the recipe book had spilled over onto the pages.
He sets the table for two, with silver cutlery and china crockery rimmed with gold. A bottle of sparkling wine – which he'd been assured (admittedly, by people of questionable expertise) was of a very fine vintage and perfect for this momentous occasion – is placed next to the salad dish. James surveys the table nervously. He knows it's far from perfect, but he's hoping that Lily would appreciate it anyway.
There's a knocking at the door, three times over, knock, knock, knock, and James tugs at his collar anxiously as he goes to open it, to greet his love.
Lily is even more beautiful than he remembered, even though she's not particularly dressed up. He supposes he should have mentioned it to her, but it slipped his mind. She's wearing a dress coloured deep blue, tulle, and her hair hangs slightly curled to her shoulders. She looks slightly confused by the house. He hasn't told her that he bought it (for them), and only gave her an address.
"Hey." he says, and immediately berates himself for it. The word comes out dry and scratchy, and sounds so… boring. If there's one thing James Potter never wants to be, it's boring.
Lily looks him up and down before returning his greeting. "Hi. You look… nice." She says it uncertainly, but once it's out of her mouth, she realises that she believes it. He does look nice.
"Thanks." He wipes his palms on his pants. "Come in."
It's like their first date all over again, the quiet awkwardness where neither of them knows quite what to say.
As he leads her through the hall, Lily gives in to temptation and asks, "What's with the house?"
"Bought it."
"Oh, that's nice."
They've reached the dining room, and he pulls her chair out for her. She sits, and James takes the seat across from her, and pushes the vase slightly out of the way so he can actually see her.
"Did you make this?" she asks him, with a quirk of her eyebrow that tells him she's impressed. She takes a helping from each dish, and so does he.
He rubs at his neck and blushes. "Yeah, yeah I did." he says. "It wasn't that hard, actually." His shyness and nervousness is starting to fade, and his pride and ego returns. The radio abruptly stops playing, fading into buzzing before dying out completely. He blushes, and she looks relieved that she won't have to shout over the music.
A piece of feta is impaled upon her fork, along with half a lettuce leaf. "Not half bad, James." she tells him.
"Yeah, I know." he replies with an easy grin, with more than a hint of arrogance.
She sticks her tongue out at him, and swats him lightly on the nose. "Someone's modest." she says with a laugh.
"Is it me?" he responds. She rolls her eyes, and he reaches for his wine glass, only to realise that he's completely forgotten to pour any. He reaches for the bottle and tries to pop off the cork. After a solid minute, she gets sick of watching (and laughing at) him struggle. She plucks the bottle from his fingers, and rips out the cork with her teeth. It comes out easily with a pop, and he gives her a sulky pout.
"I loosened it, obviously." he tells her.
She ruffles his hair. "Of course you did." she snickers and pours them both some wine. When he takes a sip, he discovers that it's unpleasantly sour. It takes all his self-control to not dribble it all back into his glass, because ew. Lily would definitely not approve.
He tries to warn her, but he spent too long fighting his gag reflex and she's already taken a sip.
"James," she says neutrally, "what sort of wine is this?"
"I don't know!" he confesses. "I don't know wines! Sirius said it was good!"
She sighs and gives him a sympathetic smile. "When will you ever learn not to trust Sirius' advice?"
He opens his mouth to retort, but suddenly his mouth is full because she's just fed him a rather large bite of potato with a cheeky smile. He chews obediently, swallows, and laughs.
Lily cuts into a pork chop, and her knife comes away bloody. Immediately, she recoils and shoves the plate away. She hates blood.
"What's wrong?" he asks, latching onto her horrified look immediately with a look of concern. She shows him the pork chop, and he looks shattered and ashamed. His perfect date has turned into a disaster.
He pushes all the dishes to the side and looks her in the eyes with an expression of complete sincerity.
"Merlin Lily, I'm so sorry. I tried, I really did." It's all coming out now. Nothing's gone right, but he'll be damned if it stops him. "I just wanted to surprise you so I could… so I could… ask you if you would marry me." He pushes his chair back a bit too hard, and it hits the ground. He ignores it and vaults the table. Before Lily can say anything, James is down on one knee. "Lily, I love you more than anything in the world, and I'm sorry I annoyed you so much in school, but it was totally worth it because we wouldn't be here otherwise, so will you marry me?"
He pulls a box out of his pocket, just a little bit late, and opens it. The ring inside is gold and gleaming, with a diamond half the size of his pinkie nail, and falls out of the box and onto the floor, rolling to the other side of the room. Lily suppresses a giggle at James' bad luck, and goes to retrieve it while James objections that he should be the one to get it.
Ultimately, she gets the ring first, and places it on her finger. Immediately, James gives a squawk of protest. "No, I have to put it on your finger!" he says. He runs to her side, plucks it off her finger and kneels back down. "Lily, will you marry me?"
Lily laughs out loud this time, and plants a kiss on his lips. "Yes, I will, James."
He beams, and makes a big deal out of putting the ring on her finger. Once he does, he stands up, holds her close, and whispers softly into her ear, "Mrs Lily Potter. I like the sound of that."
fin.