Author's Note: I've been on a bit of a hiatus due to a mixture of travelling, birthday festivities and health reasons. However, I've had this idea for a while now, and I really wanted to share it before I leave for my next big trip. I hope you all enjoy, and it's loosely based on the song "Cowboy Take Me Away" by the Dixie Chicks.
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize isn't mine.
The flat was quiet—too quiet. There were pieces of parchment scattered all over the floor accompanied with the occasional ink blot. Opened and half-empty containers were strewn across the countertops and tabletops of the kitchen with labels like "Aconite", "Ginger", "Frog Brain", "Dragon's Blood" and "Boomslang". On the stove was a large pewter cauldron with purple steam billowing out of it. And on the window ledge, with an empty wine glass on the floor next to her sat Lily Evans. Her knees were tucked in close to her chest, with an elbow resting on one knee, and her head in her hand.
Her dark and puffy green eyes were wearily following the movements of the grey clouds in the sky searching for even the smallest sign of sunshine. It's been so cold and rainy lately, thanks to the dementors, that she's forgotten what the sun looked like. Even it if it were sunny outside, she doubts she would be enjoying it. She's either in the flat working on potions for the Order, under James' invisibility cloak running after and spying on likely Death Eaters, or so focused on duelling a Death Eater and escaping death that her surroundings are not even noticeable to her.
Lily misses the earth. When she was little, she was always playing outside. Her mother and sister would often berate her for her constantly dirty dresses. Yet, little Lily would frolic bare-footed in the green grass and dirt without a care in the world. Now she's lucky if she has the time to take a simple stroll through a park with shoes on.
Severus and she used to lie under the large Elm tree by her house and make the falling leaves magically race each other to the ground. Lily once begged her mother to let her and Severus camp out there for the night, but Rose Evans wouldn't even hear of it. She never trusted that "Snape boy", and while Lily always believed that was Petunia's influence, her mother's concerns ended up being spot-on in that regard.
However, camping was sounding pretty great to Lily right about now. She could finally take the chance to just touch the earth and feel it in her hands without worrying about the Death Eater throwing killing curses at her every second. She could frolic among the wild and unruly plants like she used to when she was a little girl. The corners of her lips started to quirk up at the thought.
Right at that moment, the unmistakable sound of someone apparating outside the door met Lily's ears which was proceeded by her and James' secret knock. Lily went up to the door and asked through it, "Who is Luke Skywalker's father?"
"Darth Vader," asserted James.
Lily undid the lock and opened the door to find James pointing his wand at her with a teasing smirk on his face. He never could take this security measure seriously. "Who was your best shag?" he asked confidently.
"Sirius, obviously," Lily responded with a smirk that echoed the one that quickly vanished from his face at her response.
"Not funny Evans," he pouted.
"Well you know what Dumbledore said last meeting, the Death Eaters have Sev—uhh—well, their own Potions Master, and we should be prepared for the possibility that they're making Polyjuice Potion," she sighed, turned around and headed to the kitchen to check on her potion.
James was going to continue whinging about her cruel joke, but once she brought up her ex-best friend's current activities, he thought better of it and followed her into the kitchen. "Fine, I'll ask a better question. When was our best shag?" He asked with the smirk back on his face as he walked up to Lily, whose head was bent over the cauldron, and put his arms around her waist.
Lily rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help the smile that was creeping up on her face, "You're such a prat," she said as she turned around in his arms, put her arms up to his neck, and reached her face to kiss his. James greedily returned the kiss, pulling her even closer against him and lifting up her shirt a little so that his hands were touching the soft skin of her waist. Lily's hands moved from the nape of his neck into his messy black hair as she sucked on his bottom lip.
Just as James' hands were about travel South in order to pick her up and carry her to their bed, a gentle tapping noise interrupted them. Both of them turned their heads toward the noise to see Sirius' owl, Owl, at the window with a slip of parchment attached to its claw. Lily detached from James, and as she walked over to the window she said, "And our best shag was that time a few months ago on Remus' bed."
"Too right, it was," James smiled and sighed, "And yet, Remus couldn't find it in him to be happy for us."
"Well love, to be fair, I mean, you still give Sirius shit for shagging uh…whats-her-name, on your bed in sixth year."
"Yeah, well, this was me and you, a couple Remus loves and knows dearly. Sirius fucked a stranger he hasn't spoken to since. There's a difference."
Lily rolled her eyes, an occurrence that happens quite a lot whenever she's around James, as she opened the window and untied the scroll from the Owl's leg.
James—me and Remus are going to Hog's Head for drinks with a few other members tonight, are you and Lily in? (Peter's a no-show…again…bloody rat)
Lily quickly read the note and handed it over to James with a sigh. She loved everyone in the order dearly, she honestly didn't know what she would do without them in this mess of a war, but she needed something different right now. Going to the Hog's Head for drinks was the only fun thing order members could do together without drawing attention to themselves and blowing their cover; so they do it quite often.
"Do you want to go Lils?" asked James.
Just as Lily was about to, begrudgingly, say yes, she remembered something, and her eyes glimmered with excitement as she looked at James, "James, I'm going to go camping," she stated.
"Okay….so…uh…wait, is that a 'no' to the drinks then?" baffled James with furrowed brows.
"Yes."
"So…'yes' to the drinks?" he puzzled again.
Lily rolled her eyes, "For someone who got seven NEWTs, you're awfully dense sometimes. It's a 'no' to the drinks, because tonight, we're packing up and getting ready to go camping tomorrow morning."
James' brows were still furrowed in confusion, and his mouth kept opening and closing as if he wanted to say something but didn't know what to say. To Lily's relief, he finally uttered something, "Can you just repeat that please, and maybe offer me some, like, well, much-needed context?"
"Uh..right, that's probably a good idea. So, again, no to drinks because we are going to camping tomorrow morning. Why are we going camping—well, because I need this James. I need this." James' look softened at the desperation in her voice, "I have been going mad lately. I feel like my whole world has just become running into battles, hiding from Death Eaters and potions. I want to experience the earth again."
"You want to experience the earth again?" James asked with a teasing smirk.
"Fuck yes. Make fun of it all you want. I know it sounds cheesy, but I know you know what I mean James Potter. Like…don't you miss the earth? We're in bloody London all the damned time. I mean…you haven't gone out with Remus and the boys for a full moon in months. You can't not tell me you're not going a little mad here," Lily ranted. "I want to just walk through a forest, where there's no building in site, only trees and grass, and leaves. I want it to just be me for miles and miles."
"What about me?"
Lily smiled and put her arms around his waist, "I guess I want you there too. Merlin knows I don't really want to experience this earth again without your smile there with it," she assured pressing a light kiss to his lips.
"What about the cold?"
"The stars will be our blanket," teased Lily
"Uh…what?"
"James, are you a wizard or not? We can handle the actual camping parts of this magically."
"Right," nodded James in agreement. Yet something in the stiffness of his body, and the slight furrow left in his brows told Lily he was still hesitant. Come to think of it, James has been acting kind of shady like this for the past few weeks.
"Do you not want to?"
"No, it's not that at all. I think I need this just as much as you," he assured, "it's just that, I mean, well we had those special dinner plans for tomorrow night."
"We can cook ourselves a nice dinner tomorrow night love."
James sighed, and nodded slowly, "That's true I guess."
"Don't you want to go flying love? I want to ride your broom. I haven't done it in so long."
James smirked, "I want you to ride my broom too Evans."
Lily ignored the obvious innuendo in his statement, and said "Great, let's get packing then."
"Um, right okay, I'll go cancel those reservations and the…uh some other stuff, and I'll let Dumbledore and the order know we're going to take the next few days off."
The next night, after a day of frolicking in the grass, walking and not running, and flying in a clear blue sky without a building in sight, Lily was snuggled within the comfort of James' arms under a blanket of stars. The sound of their laughter played in harmony with the chirping crickets and the rustling of the leaves as the wind breezed through them. She and James always manage to have fun together, but this was different. They could have fun without worrying for right now. Even after their day on his broom, she hasn't felt this free since she found out she was a witch, and she's never felt closer to James than she had on this day.
After bickering and laughing about whether or not the dog star was named as such because it's twinkle was kind of shaped like a dog, Lily turned her head towards his and asked, "So are you finally ready to tell me why you've been acting shady the past few weeks?"
James chuckled and sighed happily, "You know what…yeah, I actually am." He turned his head to meet her eyes, "I love you."
"I love you too," smiled Lily moving her head in for a kiss, but James used the arm she was lying on to lift a very confused Lily up on to her feet instead.
Once they stood face to face, stars still twinkling above them, surrounded by only trees, grass, flowers and wildlife, James' hands lightly against Lily's waist, did James say, "I originally wanted to do this after that dinner we were supposed to have tonight at this fancy muggle restaurant in London, where after I was going to take you to Hog's Head with all of our friends waiting there." Lily was starting to see where this was going, and her eyes widened. "Once we got there, Sirius was going to start playing that muggle love song you love so much by that Elvin guy on that mini guitar thing I begged him to learn how to play," her widened eyes softened with her chuckle and started to glisten with tears, "then I was going to get down on one knee," James got down on one knee, "pull out my grandmother's ring," James pulled out his grandmother's ring, "and say this: 'This war is the worst thing that has ever happened to the wizarding world, and yet, you still manage to keep me smiling. Do me the honor of making me smile for the rest of my life, and let me do the same for you. Lily Evans, will you marry me?'"
Just as Lily was about to respond, James snapped the box shut, got up and said with a smirk, "It's too bad you wanted to go camping instead."
Lily's mouth opened in shock, "James!" she exasperated punching him in the arm.
James laughed, "I'm kidding Lils! Only kidding! This place is a way better spot for a proposal…how'd you put it again? Blanket of stars? Now that's just pure poetry. So this is really the best possible place for you to agree to put up with my shit forever," he teased, "so what do you say Evans?" he asked opening the ring box once again, "Will you continue to put up with my shit for all eternity?"
Lily rolled her eyes, "Sounds good to me," she said with a smile as she jumped into his arms and proceeded to kiss him.